Stereo Hearts
by Curious Calamity
Summary: "So, it's okay." Kaminari's voice is so tender that it honestly hurts. His tone stirs the built-up feelings inside her and oh no, she feels the dams she had taken so long to build begin to break. His lips twisted into another smile, one that was somber but wholehearted - sincere. Jirou only distinctly feels like she's been struck by lightning.
1. We Might As Well Play With Lightning

_**A/n: Chapter two will be posted tomorrow! It'll be Kaminari's POV :) **_

_**Please leave a review! It makes my day!**_

_**I hope you enjoy!**_

* * *

It wasn't supposed to end up like this.

They were supposed to be training, honing their quirks to be the best they could possibly be.

Yet here they were, standing in front of a dark forest, about to complete the 'training exercise' that Aizawa had just pulled out of his ass.

"I don't know about this..."

It's dark.

The forest around them was, say to the least, shady as hell, something straight out of a horror move- the kind where, whenever someone goes out to investigate, they get killed.

She's never liked horror movies- never liked the feeling of her heart pounding out of get chest as she looked around, danger very well lurking around her, poised and ready to strike.

She's never liked jump scares or anything scary- because being caught off guard has never been something she's been fond of(as shown by how she clutched on to Momo whenever the class got together to watch horror movies. She has no clue how the other girl can just sit through it).

It's silent, the kind of silence that weighs heavy, pressing down on you, constricting your every attempt at breath.

She hears the soft chirping of the crickets around her, their lullaby normally pretty, but now its undeniably creepy, their noise filling up the silence; getting louder and louder with each step into the dense forest.

"Well, I think this is exciting!"

There's rustling from next to her, and Jirou's heart nearly leaps out of her chest when she feels a cold hand clap on her shoulder.

The worst part of this was, besides the whole 'getting scared by class 1-B' kind of thing, She could barely even see her partner.

Don't get her wrong- she loved Hagakure, but sometimes having a partner whose quirk made her seem ghostlike was not fun! Especially in this setting!

Hagakure seemed happy, as least, taking her time to look through the forests at a leisurely pace. She had told her that she wasn't a fan of scary stuff either, but she certainly didn't seem scared, skipping ahead of her, humming the tune of an anime opening that she didn't bother remembering the name of.

She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. This wasn't fun at all. She'd rather be scared by 1-B now and then be able to go back to the cabins.

"You think everything is exciting," she pointed out, trying her best to keep up with the other girl's quick steps.

"I mean, yeah," Hagakure turned around, walking backward as she spoke, "but that's what being a hero is about, right? Going with the thrill!" With that, she turned back around, skipping ahead once again.

Jirou sighed, continuing her quick steps. For someone who seemed kind of hesitant when this whole thing started, she sure as hell was excited now.

It wasn't long before Hagakure stopped skipping, and Jirou thought it was to let her catch up. But before she could hurry to the other girl's side, she spoke:

"What is that?"

The sky was no longer clear. Instead, a thin layer of white fog seemed to be covering it, hiding the stars beneath.

"It's probably one of the 1-B kids.."

She hates the way her voice quivers at that, because she doesn't remember any 1-B kid having a quirk like that- but, maybe she just missed out on that information! This has to be a part of this whole exercise.

"L-Let's just keep going."

They continue to follow the path, and Jirou felt like her heart was going to leapt out of her chest every time a twig snapped under their feet. Hagakure had stopped humming, coming back to all at her side instead of skipping ahead. Even the bubbly girl seemed to be on edge.

"This fog is so thick," Hagakure whines, and the fog in front of her face seemed to disperse, as if she was fanning out away from her mouth, "Where did it come from? Is this another test?"

It was oddly silent other than them. The crickets had stopped chirping, there were no owl calls, no rustling of the undergrowth around them..

Something was wrong.

"Be quiet for a sec, okay?"

Jirou knelt down, plugging in her jacks to the ground, crouching low, eyes closed, as she listened.

It's silent other than the sound of racing footsteps- far too many, as if a bunch of people were running for their lives.

She ignored the sound of her heartbeat in her ears, listening harder, to see if there was something else she could be looking for- something else that said: _"Shit, maybe we should be running too."_

A scream.

It wasn't the kind of scream that was from shock- no, that was a scream of terror, of fear, of _pain_.

Her eyes snapped open. She was jumping back up, detaching her earphone jack from the ground,

"Shit- we have to get out of here!"

She reached out, grabbing what she thought was Hagakure's hand and ran, ignoring the other girls surprised shout as she pulls them through the undergrowth.

"What's going on?!" Hagakure coughed, her voice muffled as she covered her mouth from the thickening fog, "did you hear something?"

"Footsteps," she breathed out, running faster, "People were running."

"Are you sure that's a bad thing? Can't they just be scared?" She hears the hesitation in Hagakure's voice, and she knows that the invisible girl isn't stupid enough not to be cautious- hopeful, yes, but not stupid.

The sound of the scream echoes through her mind, and _shit_, she knows damn well that something was wrong.

"No one in our class would run just because of a jump scare," she looks around, staring at where she thought Hagakure's face might be, and for a second, she could have sworn she saw her eyes- shocked, _scared_.

And, of course, that's when she tripped over something.

"Aaaa!"

She tumbled down the hill, losing her grip on Hagakure as she slid, tossing as turning as she struggled to regain her footing.

The smoke was thick, and she felt lightheaded. It was like she was coughing up water while her lungs falter to gulp down as much air as possible.

It feels like forever for her to stop falling, but when she does, she shakily stands back up, stumbling on the uneven ground beneath her.

Her head is spinning, either from the vertigo from the fall or the gas- she isn't sure. But she doesn't like feeling like this.

From above her, black smoke is billowing into the sky, mixing with the gas, turning the sky a milky shade of grey.

_Fire.._

Her knees shook from where he stood, but she couldn't find it in herself to run. She's never been a leader, but she's never been a follower either. She's stuck in the middle, torn in two; the feeling of his heart racing is pure adrenaline. Her head was pounding, his heart echoing in her ears, each quick and fluttering pound beating down on her.

No, she had to do something.

She was supposed to be a hero, right?

"Hagakure!" She yells, taking a step closer to the mist, covering her mouth with her free hand as she searched for her friend.

_Blue shirt, blue shirt! _She gritted her teeth, eyes watering as the fog began to burn them. She couldn't see anything. _Shit_.

The thing about having a quirk that allows you to locate based on sound, is that it does _jack_ shit when someone is unconscious.

She's wrapped up in the mist, and she's hit with a feeling of nostalgia- USJ, when she, Momo, and Denki were separated from the others- when they were forced to fight for their lives.

When Kaminari nearly _died_ because they had their guard down.

_Shit_, she scans the undergrowth, looking for any sign of her friend. She gags, choking on the gas, her feee hand covering her mouth as she searches through the undergrowth.

Hagakure was silent, which either meant she succumbed to the gas or was far away enough that she couldn't hear her. Neither were good.

She didn't want to be alone.

A flash of blue flashed across her vision, and she sighed in relief. With her eyes watering, she crouched down on the ground, next to Hagakure's unconscious form. The smog wasn't as thick down here, but she could still feel the effects of it- her vision swam, and she had to hold her arms out in front of her in order not to topple over.

The gas had knocked Hagakure out- but she was breathing, which was something she noted with a sigh of relief.

She wasn't strong enough to move Hagakure on her own, but there was no way she could just.. leave her there.

_Ugh, think! What can I do?_

She pulled the top of Hagakure's shirt over her mouth, so at least the gas wouldn't hurt her quite as much.

She followed suit, trying to ignore how weak she felt- how the world around her was spinning even though she wasn't moving at all.

This was definitely some sort of planned attack. The teachers would've pulled the 'sike' card by now. They would've helped them clean this up- they wouldn't have left them alone like this unless they had no other choice.

_I guess we're on our own for now_

She plugged an earphone jack into the ground, pulling Hagakure into her lap as she did so.

Footsteps. Heavy, uneven footsteps. And they were coming closer.

She's choking, choking on not only the gas- but her fear and self doubt. She holds Hagakure closer to her, not willing to let her go even if it meant that they'll both go down.

Go down? What is she thinking. She's going to fight them off. They're in the top class of 1-A; they've fought of villains before- and she sure as well do it again.

Even though she might be alone this time.

She's dizzy, her head feeling lighter than ever and maybe it's the gases fault, but she can see the shadow of someone coming closer to her-

A flash of yellow, black clothing.

That idiot, always so bright even through the dark spots clouding her vision.

"Jamming-whey!" She shouts, "you idiot, over here!" She breaks out into a fit of coughs, the gas rushing into her lungs. This can't be good- her vision swims, her heart seems to stop in her chest- but no- she can't stop fighting, not here- not when help was _so close-_

"Jirou?" The shadow stops, and she has to bite back a sigh of relief when she hears the voice- the one the came from the boy that sat next to her and annoyed her to no end.

There's something wrong. Even with the dark spots clouding her vision, she can see the splashes of red that had soaked into his clothes, she could see the acid-caused-burn marks scattered across his arms. She could see the strands of tape dangling off the back of his clothing.

Why was he here? Wasn't he supposed to be in the extra lessons building? Sero, Mina, Kirishima, Satou.. Where were they?

She hugs Hagakure closer to her chest, unable to do much else as the gas begins to take effect. Her legs feel like jello, she can barely keep her eyes open.

Yet he's here. Fine. Not affected by the gas at all.

_How?_

He leans down and smiles at her- not that soft, boyish smile that she had come to know- the one that appeared whenever he was about to say something particularly stupid- no, this was a cold smile, something like a shit-eating grin. It was unsettling.

It wasn't right.

He doesn't ask her if she's okay, doesn't make sure that she's uninsured. No, he reaches for the girl in her arms, hands splayed and electricity crackling in between each of his fingers.

She squints her eyes at the bright light, but doesn't give in, clutching Hagakure closer to her (admittedly small) chest.

"Move your hand, Jirou." His eyes are cold as he looks down on her, not the bright amber that was usually filled with warmth.

"What are you doing?" Her voice falters, and she hopes she sounds stronger than she feels. She's glaring at him, because, honestly, what's going on? He better have a good reason for this, or he's going to get one of her earphone jacks stabbed right up his as-

"_Kaminari, what's your status?_"

"Shigaraki," there's a buzzing noise, as if he's talking into a walkie talkie, "another two over here. Nah, just two of the girls. It'll be easy. Kirishima and the others put up more of a fight," he sounds sad when he says the name, but his eyes are cold, staring straight at her when he says that.

"_You better get it done quick. We have to be out by sunrise_."

"What?" she responds, voice on the verge of breaking. But she's perfected the art of keeping her face flat and her voice neutral. She doesn't care. She doesn't. She _can't_.

"What the fuck is going on, Kaminari?" Her voice is quiet this time as she watched him click the button on his earpiece.

He turns back to her, that unsettling smile still on his face, "It's been like this all along. I'm surprised you of all people haven't seen it, Jirou," he laughs a bit, hand reaching out to cup her face, ignoring how she flinched away, "hacking the communications system at USJ, me trying to persuade y'all to not go after Bakugou, the whole 'idiot' thing." He scoffs at the last word, looking down at his other hand, which still crackled with electricity.

"But still, I find that my biggest mistake was falling for you," he sighs, hand falling from her cheek, "it's a shame that I've always been fond of a girl that could kick my ass."

Her heart stops in her chest at those words. He liked her? What? He liked her back?

She thinks back to the classmate she had come to know- the boy that sat next to her in class. The one that always (indiscreetly) asked her for answers, the one that always invited himself to walk her home, the one that stuck by her side like glue whenever he wasn't hanging out with his 'bros'.

The boy that she fell for.

But this isn't him. This Kaminari- _no_, this guy was a monster. This wasn't the boy she fell for.

That boy was a lie.

Feeling anger course through her veins, she shoved him back, "What are you thinking? Do you really think that that'll win me over? Now? Look around us, Kaminari," she threw a hand up to the burning trees around them, the gas still thick and heavy in the sky, "you did this. You did this and I can't believe it." She's shaking, Hagakure still in her arms as she looks at his face, cold and impassive.

This can't be happening. It _can't_ be.

He looks shocked at her sudden confidence, and sighs. "You know what? You should've never become a hero," it's all too sudden- he's grabbing her by the throat, pulling her up and away from Hagakure's still form, ignoring her choked scream as his grip tightens, "maybe then, everything could've been different."

Somehow, he had become the boy of her dreams had become the boy of her nightmares.

"See you in another life, Kyouka."

All too quickly, the hand around her throat crackles with electricity. Electricity zaps through her, making her scream as she felt all her muscles lock up in place.

And, after that, as her last breath escaped from her lungs, everything went dark.

When she awoke, she could hear nothing but the pounding of her heartbeat in her ears.

Her heartbeat, something that powered her quirk, something she blasted out to the world yet kept so hidden, was reverbrating through her mind, pounding harder and harder and harder.

She's sweating, and the aching in her chest only seemed stronger, more prominent, accompanying the feeling of her heart against her ribcage, her breath coming out in short pants, her hands trembling.

Most of the details of her nightmare were hazy the moment she awoke, but there was one remnant clinging to her consciousness, making her all too aware.

She was _choking_.

Kyouka found herself shaking- arms wrapping around herself as she tried to suppress the shivers that wracked her body. It was like an abrupt punch; a wave of emotions running over her and tearing at her insides until she couldn't breathe.

God, she could barely even remember the dream, yet here she was- this stifling feeling that kept rising up was one she didn't like. It was defensive, cold- making her want to clamp all her emotions shut and keep to herself. That's what she's always done- kept to herself, so why the hell is it so hard to do it now?

_You should've never become a hero_

Damn, she's usually the person who ignores stuff like that, ignoring the ignorance of others without a bat of an eye. Now, she's here, lowkey close to crying, all because of a stupid dream.

What the hell was going on? Why was she like this?

She might not remember the dream very well, but she remembered who was in it- who said such things, who was there and did nothing- yet _too_ much.

_Kaminari_

Now, the loneliness was overwhelming. It was uncomfortable, weighing down on her, as if her nightmares somehow found a way to make her room all the more stifling.

She stretched a hand towards her desk, searching until deft fingers landed on the rectangular shape of her phone.

She squinted as light assaulted her vision, sighing when the words: **2:57am** registered in her mind. She groaned, turning over in her bed and shoving her face into her pillow. It was too early for this shit, but there was no way in hell that, after her nightmare, the forefront of cold fear nearly surging back at the thought, she would get back to sleep.

She sighs, tossing the pillow clenched between her arms to the side as she sat up, sliding out from underneath the covers. She hurried out of the room, deftly stepping over some of her band equipment that had somehow fallen on the floor.

She didn't like the way the shadows seemed to move, they way that they seemed to be watching her.

She shuddered. She really did not like the dark- especially after that weirdass dream.

She closes the door behind her with a sigh, hand coming to lightly hold her jacks as she leans against the cool wooden frame.

There's no sign of life on the female section of the floor; Hagakure's door is closed and, with the absence of any light coming out from underneath it, shows that she's probably sleeping, like any normal person should be at this hour.

She padded down the hallway, her feet making a gentle tapping noise with each step. She hopes that she doesn't wake up Shouji, as he's the only other person in the dorms who could possibly hear her, but, then again, he's on the 4th floor. If he can sleep through having both Bakugou and Kirishima as floor mates, then she's sure it'll be fine.

She's never liked the dark- she's never liked the way that it can confuse you, the way the shadows can twist and bend if you'd stare for too long, the way that just about anything could

That's why she's relied on her above average hearing and her quirk her whole life- because your eyes can deceive you.

She steps into the common section of their floor, where both the boys and girls areas merge into one. She hears Iida's snoring from inside his room, which is something that everyone has complained about at least one. Bever to his face though, as he would probably write an essay regarding a formal apology.  
No hate, she loved Iida, but he could be a tad bit uptight at times.

She still walking, smiling as she's able to identify each of her classmates doors. There's Iida's plain brown one (he didn't want to break the rules and change it), there's Hagakures pink one, there's her own purple one, there's Koda's one, decorated with pictures of animals, there's Ojiro's plain one, saying nothing more than his name..

Yet, She found herself outside of his door- the stupid yellow one with tacky lightning bolt stickers that always managed to catch her attention.

She doesn't know why she cares, doesn't know how this idiot managed to get her so worked up all the time. Maybe it was his stupid jokes, maybe it was his goofy smile, maybe it was because he tried so hard, even if he tried to play it off with a fake smile and a thumbs up. Maybe it was because he was so much deeper than other people saw. Maybe it was because he was.. well, Kaminari.

She'd scoffed at the idea because there was no way she'd ever come to Jamming-Whey's dorm for comfort. Her pride wouldn't allow it.

Jeez, she's making it sound like she's a stalker or something. She shakes her head, taking a step away from the door.

That's when she heard it.

There was a noise, a muffled one, as if someone was trying to suppress something. There was a crash that followed, as if someone had fallen.

_What the hell? _She turns back to the door, muscles tensed as she listened for more sounds. The muffled sounds continued, but the crashing ceased. Maybe he rolled off the bed or something. Maybe he pushed one of his many Knick-knacks into the floor. It wouldn't be above him, considering he's done it before.

But, that muffled sound was new. Was it his video games? He always forgot to turn them off whenever he decided to crash in the common room.

Could he be in trouble?

After Kamino and the whole 'Yakuza' thing, everyone was on their top guard. As a hero, you have to be prepared for when shit went down and, she hates to admit it, but she would hate for him to get hurt.

Idiot or not, he's still her friend.

_Just in case_, she told herself, jacks poised and ready to strike, just in case her frien- just in case Kaminari was in danger.

She plugged them into the wall, careful not to blast her heartbeat out to the boy that always managed to make it pick up it's pace.

The sounds were clearer now, much clearer. It wasn't crashing of any sort; it was choppy, as if subdued.

_Wait.._

_Was that crying?_

What the hell was she thinking again? She'd come over here and now Kaminari was letting her into his room. So what if he did that with everyone – it was just… Confrontational. People could get the wrong idea.

Especially if he wasn't crying, and was intentionally trying to muffle his voice because... Well, she felt her face heat up at the thought.

You know what, she sucked in her pride, trying to shake off the feeling of unease that assaulted her when the signal in her mind shouting: warning, _warning, **warning**._

_Screw it_

She knocked on the door.

She heard the crying from inside the room cease. There were footsteps, muffled due to the door that separated them.

Hesitant really wasn't the right word to describe Kaminari. He's always out there, animated, _too_ loud for his own good.

But now, as the wooden door, the only thing separating the two, opened, she glanced up at him to see him looking at her with an expression that she hadn't seen him wear before; his eyes were gentle, and his mouth was sober and pressed in a thin line.

There were tears in his eyes.

"Jirou?" his voice is quiet as he peers at her through the crack.

Okay, this was weird. It's 3am, it's dark as hell outside- they should be sleeping. But she's here, facing off against a sad Denki Kaminari.

And she had no idea what the hell she was doing.

She's like Midoriya, in that sense, acting first and rarely thinking of the outcome. Or, well, it's sometimes the opposite, thinking too much about the outcome but never quite sure how to go about it.

(At least she doesn't break her arms every other day)

Right now, she had no clue which of those times it was. _God_, she was tired.

"That's me, genius, "Her words are a tad bit drier than usual, but they lacked their usual teasing bite.

"Look, if you're here to tease me like usual, then just," he takes a deep breath, as if he doesn't want to say the next words, "then just leave."

_He doesn't want to be alone._

All the time that she's known him, Kaminari was either A. Doing some dumb shit B. Hanging off someone or C. Doing a mixture of both.

So yeah, she knew damn well that he hated being alone. Especially when she was laying far too close attention to him, seeing the sad pout he gives whenever Bakugou pushes Kaminari's legs off of his lap (on the rare occasions that he lets it happen), seeing the defeated look in his eyes whenever the Mina and Kirishima leave him behind, seeing the slight pout on his lips as he sulks.

She's not a stalker. It's just that she's always been observant- Right? And it's not like any of the 'bakusquad' members are.. discreet about literally anything they do.

She breaks out of her thoughts when she heard a sniffle, nearly cut out by the creaking of the door closing.

Quickly, she pushes her hand against the door, stopping it from closing.

"Hey, Kaminari," she doesn't know what she cares, why she's even doing this. Maybe it's because she hates seeing people sad- maybe it's because she's frustrated that she can't usually do more than just.. be there. "are you okay?"

She doesn't even know why she's thinking so hard about this. Well, she does- that little voice at the back of her mind highkey screaming at her to finally make her move. But haha, _feelings_? Don't know her.

"Yeah, why?"

She knew his smile was fake. It really wasn't that hard to tell, given that there were tears dripping down his cheeks as well.

She looked at him- the '_I don't believe you_' look in her eyes probably all too clear, for the small smile that has settled on his face dropped immediately.

He stepped away from the door, letting her step into his room.

It was messy, as per usual, but so incredibly like Kaminari that she had to fight rolling her eyes. No- it isn't the time to critique his room (even though the skateboard rack he had was.. a bit excessive).

After nearly stepping on one of his textbooks, she sat down on the corner of his bed, waiting for him to sit beside her.

She didn't know if it was impressive or not that he was able to step through the mess without looking down at the floor.

They sat in silence for a moment, basking in each other's presence. For once, Kaminari wasn't speaking. For as long as she knew him, Kaminari had been incapable of shutting up. He was always there, cracking a joke- saying stupid stuff- but he was always there, always doing it to make people happy.

She hated that she found it cute.

But now, as he dejectedly looked down at his open palms, she decided that silence wasn't a good look for him.

"You can talk to me, you know."

"Since when did you become a therapist?" He joked, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

She doesn't fight back like she usually does, only crossing her arms over her chest as she looked back at him, ignoring the twinge in her chest at how defeated he seemed.

Without a response, he seemed to deflate, almost as if having relied on banter in order to stop himself from talking about this.

"I don't really like it, you know; people laughing at me." he paused, voice shaky as he looked at his hands. He's looked at them so often that he's memorized each and every little lightning shaped scar that littered their surfaces; he used to call them his lightning veins and, with lightning legitimately coursing through his body, the title wouldn't be far off; he used to think they were cool but...

Now, he hated them.

He sighed, picking at the already scarred skin of his hands, each and every scar and vein looking like little lightning bolts.

"Hey," Jirou said, reaching out and gently pulling his nails away from his skin, "don't do that."

He's never had a filter- never had a reason to second guess himself, so thats why she's so surprised by the sudden onslaught of words.

He's all too aware of the sparks that are bubbling underneath his skin as she touches him, he's all too aware of the fact that someone's here- that he isn't alone.

He's all too aware of the cold when she pulls away.

He's touchy feely but so touch starved. He wants to reach out, he wants to feel so badly, but everything is out of his reach.

Jirou is out of his reach.

"I'm scared, scared that there will be a time when I can't come out of it," he sighs, running a hand through his blond locks, "I'm still there when I'm like that, you know? But I'm nothing more than a voice at the back of my mind- something that can't be heard." Kaminari looks up, eyes wide, and Jirou realizes just how tired he looks. With the culture festival coming up, they've stayed up all night trying to perfect their scales, sure, but this was a different kind of tired- a hopeless one.

He sighed, head resting on his palm as he looked out towards his open window. "I sometimes dream about it- what it would have been like if I had actually gotten killed back there."

_USJ_

The words flash in her mind as she realize just what he's talking about. When villain with the electric quirk got a hold of him- and if it weren't for Snipe..

Golden eyes met her own, their amber depths threatening to pull her in. "But, there's no use dwelling on the past, am I right?" he laughs, but it's a sad one, the kind that came with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, the kind that sounded off- the kind the sounded _broken_.

"I feel myself slipping away, Jirou." he whispers, hands finding her own. "I don't know what to do."

"Kaminari.." Honestly, she's at a loss for words. She's never been good at comforting people- she's never been the one to comfort people. She hides behind playful insults and violence- not that sunshine type of thing that Kirishima has going on for him. She cares, she really does, but she just doesn't know what to do.

She's used to listening, used to staying on the sidelines while the main action plays out in front of her. But now, she needs to make a decision.

She reaches out to him. It wasn't anything big, the simple gesture of placing her hand on his arm was nothing compared to the way Kirishima and Sero threw their arms around his shoulders in a way of saying, 'we're in this together', nothing compared to the way that Bakugou sometimes shoved his hand into his face in a way of saying: 'you're being stupid, but I'm stuck with you anyway.' nothing compared to the way Mina pretty much matched on to him, as if saying, 'you're stuck with me', and you're going to appreciate it.'

This was nothing like that, a simple touch, meaning nothing more than to comfort-

It did nothing more than say '_hey, I'm here_' and, honestly, he was glad for that.

Maybe a bit _too_ glad.

"Ow!"

Her hand feels like it's on fire: shocked, tingling- _burning_. He quickly pulls away, hands burying into his pockets as he quickly tries to stifle the electricity flying from them.

It took seconds, but now she's here, hand tingling and twitching, while he's looking more hurt than ever.

"Shit, I'm sorry!"

There's a current in the air that she hadn't noticed before; it's blazing, buzzing, surrounding her. It was like a heat that she couldn't shake off, encasing her limbs with no hope of it cooling down. With him by her side, her hand lingering just above his arm, it was like 'pins and needles' was in the air- the kind of white noise that filtered itself through the ground whenever she plugged her earphone jack in.

The blaze was stifling.

"I need to get out of here," He stands up, hands rubbing at his eyes as his feet slide onto his rug. The air is stifling. "I'm probably going to hang out in the common room for a while," he looks back at her, and Jirou can see the utter hopelessness in his eyes.

"You don't have to stay here, you know. I'll be okay in my own." Okay, first of all, no, he would clearly not be okay. As much as she despises knowing him enough that she could tell that that's true- she wouldn't just leave the idiot like this.

She couldn't- she was a hero, someone who was there to comfort people in times of distress, someone who was there as a pillar for the society- a symbol of hope.

What's the use of becoming a hero if you can't even do something like this?

Her hand might still be tingling, but it's the least she could do for him.. The least she could do for her _friend_.

She scoffs at the comment, sliding off his bed as well, following in his footsteps as to not kick any of the items scattered across his messy floor.

"Look, You're being more of an idiot than usual. I'm not gonna leave you; We're friends, and I wouldn't be a very good one if I left you when you were like this." She gestures at him, but doesn't meet his eyes. She tries to ignore the conflict written all over his face, as if he's confused about how she's actually going to react to the whole situation.

Honestly, she doesn't know much else other than the fact that there was no way in hell she was going to leave him.

She does give him mixed signals, which is something that she does feel kinda bad for but.. well, she doesn't really know how to act around him besides throwing out insults.

"Now, come on," She tugs at his sleeve, pulling him further down the hallway, "You want to get out of here, don't you? let's raid the kitchen."

The walk down to the Kitchen was quiet, nothing more than the sound of their footsteps as they made their way down the stairs. They were side by side, their arms nearly brushing as they took to the dark stairway slowly, as not to trip.

Jirou suppressed a shudder as darkness swallowed her vision, the dark stairway nothing like the lit up hallways. It was a bit unnerving, but, hey, at least she wasn't alone.

_Great_, now she was depending on him.

"Scared?" There's a glint in his eyes, the more mischievous shine that she had come to know.

The door slams shut behind them, and he yelps, eyes widening as he jumps forward, clearly caught by surprise.

"You're one to talk," she grins as she watches him stick his tongue out at her, looking almost childlike as they continue down the stairs.

She holds on to the railing as she steps down, never more than one or two steps behind him.

Embarrassing as it is, she finds herself trying to keep up with him. Damn short legs. They make life so difficult.

It doesn't take long for them to get to the bottom, seeing as they were only on the 3rd floor.

The fact that they wanted to get the hell out of there helped too.

As they got to the bottom, Jirou stifled a sigh of relief as she saw the light pooling in from under the door.

Kaminari pushed open the stairwell door, narrowing his eyes as the light assaulted his vision. He held it open as he stepped into the common area, hand resting above her head on the smooth wood.

"M'lady," he says, keeping the door open for her as he walked through it.

"Wow, seems as though chilavry isn't dead," she rolls her eyes, stepping into the lit hallway a tad too quickly. She narrows her eyes as she entered the common room, scanning the area to see if anyone else was down there.

Thankfully, the usually bustling common room was quiet.

But, the tv was on, the lights flickering across the screen rapidly.

_Wait a minute_, Jirou squinted, eyes growing accustomed to the sudden bright light, _is that Mario kart?_ It seemed as though whoever was playing left midgame, as the characters were still racing cross the screen.

Huh, strange. It's not uncommon though.

They've only been in the dorms for 4 months, yet she's seen so much.

She's stumbled across her classmates passed out in the common area more times than she could count.

She's seen far too much. She's seen the way Bakugou had snuggled up to Kirishima that one time, his arms wrapped around the redheads torso while his face was buried into his neck. She's seen the way that Dark Shadow is up and about even when Tokoyami is asleep(Walking out there in the middle of the night and seeing a shadow move is terrifying). She's seen (or rather, heard) the way Midoriya talks in his sleep, usually muttering something about All Might(It's freaky at this point, and, honestly, she's starting to believe that Todoroki 'lovechild' conspiracy theory is right).

She's seen a lot, not as much as Hagakure has, but a lot.

No one does anything about it though, usually choosing to snap a photo of the occasion (Mina still has to send her the picture of Kirishima and Bakugou cuddling) or throw a blanket over them before returning to their own thing.

Overall, she feels bad for whoever has to pay the cable bill.

She sighs, turning away from the television. She heads over to the counter, leaning against it as she watches Kaminari do his thing.

He's oddly quiet as he reaches out to the fridge, pulling it open and squinting his eyes as the bright light glares into his eyes.

"Someone left the tv on," she muses, nodding her head back to where the tv remained on, the colors still flashing as the music hummed in the background. She never has been one for small talk, but it seems so odd that he's so quiet. It seems wrong.

"Huh?" he's still out of it, eyes glossy as he blinks back toward the tv. He grins as he sees the familiar game flash across the screen. "Oh, Sero probably forgot about it. Heh, he hasn't beat me yet!"

Words being said, he turned back and continued to search around the fridge, muttering about his "win streak".

After those words, Jirou swears she heard a scoff. She turned around, looking by the television. There was nothing there, only the light illuminating the darkness. Huh, the nightmare must really be getting to her.

"Yes!" She turns back around when she heard Kaminari's little victory yell, clutching a wholeass gallon of milk in his hands as he basically lugs it out of the fridge. "I found it!"

She raised an eyebrow, "Milk?"

"Yeah, want some?" She reaches forwards and swats his hand away from the milk as he goes to drink it straight from the container, the heathen. Whose milk is that anyways? Let's hope it's not Bakugou's. Last time he caught Kaminari taking some of his food, it ended up with a broken tv, a hole in the third floor, and a singed couch.

She shook her head, grimacing at the thought of being under Bakugou's wrath. Good thing he's on their side.

Hopefully, anyway. She thinks that they're chill- probably. They had the whole 'band' thing going on. He trusts her, at least.

How he felt about Kaminari, on the other hand..

"Hell no," she crossed her arms over her chest, "that stuff is disgusting."

He only shrugs, sticking his tongue out at her as he turned around and reached up into the cupboard, something that she couldn't reach, much to her chagrin. She raised an eyebrow as he pulled out two glasses instead of one, not liking where this was going.

"What!" He pours the milk into two glasses, not seeming to get the hint. "Warm milk helps a lot, dude, and I clearly have two glasses, which is one more than me."

"Wow, didn't know you were so good at math."

"It's one of my stronger subjects," a balant lie(she had seen his score on their most recent math test and BOY- she was impressed by how he somehow managed to get a single point. Like really, his score was a literal '1'), but his yellow eyes are sparkling as he doesn't hear another denial. He's smiling again- that's good.

"Keep telling yourself that," she turns around, not wanting him to see her when she feels her face heat up again for literally no reason.

_This idiot..._

She freezes as she feels his arms snake around her waist, pulling her close to him.

"Come onn~" He whined, resting his chin on the top of her head- something he was able to do because _DAMN_ she's short and oh shit he's touching her what the hell was going on- Why was he so intent on this?

Oh no, her face was _not_\- could _not_ be as red as it felt. She's glad that he can't see her while his face is resting on top of her head- and _wow what the **hell** is going on._

She flushes, then holds a jack over his eye menacingly. When did he get that close to her? "I will stab you," she says through her clenched teeth.

"If it means I'll get you to drink it, then it's worth!"

...big mistake.

"Ow, What was that for?" He jumped back, rubbing at his arm as he pulls away from her. Yikes.

"What's your face for?" God, it's such a shitty argument, but it's 3am, and her tired mind can't be bothered to care.

He sticks his tongue out at her as he stepped away, only to get a tired eyeroll in reply. "Fine, but you're missing out." he drinks the milk like it was a shot, knocking it back and gulping it down. She shuddered at the thought- warm milk is absolutely disgusting, and no one can tell her otherwise.

He slams the cup down on the table, tongue swiping across his lips as he does so. She swats his hand away as he reaches for the other glass.

Honestly, she doesn't know why she hates it so much. Maybe it's because she's so used to it that it just turned into something intolerable, something that she no longer wanted to resort to.

She's never liked nightmares, never liked the darkness, never liked being scared. She's never liked having to resort to other methods in times of terror, for she knew that, if she grabbed on to such things, she'd be left stranded and blind if it were to disppaear.

She'd been used to this feeling of emptiness all her life.

Huh, maybe that's why she closes herself off so much.

She's always been the one to stick it out, even if 'sticking it out' meant hiding underneath your covers until the sun rose, until the demons within the dark receded back into their corners.

"It really does work though."

He pushed himself onto the counter, sitting up there with his legs dangling off the side. He's done it before, even though Iida always tells him to 'hop off'(the poor dude still didn't understand why everyone found that so funny).

She leaned against the same counter, arms crossed against her chest as she looked up at him. He still had that infuriating glass of milk in his hand, the bone hurting juice steaming due to it's heat. _Gross_.

"How do you know for sure?" she's staring at him, and she knows it. She hates how she notices the way his eyes shine when he thinks about it, hates that she notices the quirk of his lips as he pulls the half empty glass away from them.

Hates that she knows exactly what's coming next.

Kaminari pulls a face. The way he scrunches his nose is entirely too cute, but Jirou doesn't let herself go there.

"Well, it's like someone once told me, 'how do you know what's good for me,'" he paused, taking a sip of his milk.

Oh _god_, her eyes felt the need to roll out of her head; she saw that infuriating glint in his eyes, the one she knew popped up whenever he was about to say some dumb shit. It's 3am. She didn't have to have to be dealing with this.

The worst part is, she knew exactly what he was referencing.

She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "That's my opinion."

Her eyes are trained on his face as she awaits his reaction. His eyes widened, and the shock(not the electrical kind, for once) was written all over his gaping face.

Then he snorted.

Kaminari Denki fucking snorted.

Milk flew everywhere, spilling back into his previously empty glass and its rim, spilling across his fingers and into the floor below, the white milk blending in with the white tiled floor.

Much like the angry Scottish lady on vine once said.

_Disgustang_.

Jesus Christ, she was going to have an aneurysm.

But she found herself laughing alongside him, arms wrapped around her stomach as she burst out into laughter.

His eyebrows are furrowed in an attempt to look mad, but as his arm pulls away from his mouth, she sees that infuriating smile of his once again, and she prays that the way her heart skipped a beat was because of an incoming heart attack- not because of anything else, anything feeling related. Hell no.

He tossed a rag on the floor, hand coming to wipe at his teary eyes as he kicked the cloth around on top of the spill.

"Damn, I knew you were smart, but I didn't know that you, Kyouka Jirou, were an intellectual."

She doesn't chide him for using her first name, but she does roll her eyes at how incredibly stupid he sounded.

"Well, I thought you were redeemable, but it turns out you're even more far gone than I thought." She moves to the side as he kicked the milky rag at her, nearly shrieking because hell no, that's gross. "Vine died, TikTok is where your kind is right now."

"Aw, you thought I was redeemable? That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me!"

He grabs the full cup from the counter, dumping it into the sink and turning away without washing it. Damn, get you a man like that.

"You're not going to wash that?"

"Nope!"

Why the hell does she even try?

The lack of hesitation in his words was something she wasn't sure to laugh or cry about. No wonder the sink is always full.

**'Lets a go!'**

She jumps as the television let out a particularly loud noise- and Jesus Christ, was the Tv still on? Wasn't there an automatic shut off time or something?

Apparently not.

Again, she felt bad for whoever had to pay the cable bill.

"Wanna play?" he cranes his neck towards the tv, which continued to loop the Mario kart ending scene, showing the scores of whoever was on it before them.

"No way," she rolls her eyes, "it's too late for that."

"Why, scared you won't beat me?"

She punched his shoulder, smiling slightly as he laughs, "Oh shut up. I'm not like Bakugou; I won't go off because of a stupid challenge."

He grinned at that, and Jirou felt her breath hitch as the light from the tv lit up his smile just right, "Eh, it was worth a try."

**_Snrt_**

She froze, pausing in the doorway of the kitchen. The television still shed light in the common room, encasing everything in its ghastly glow.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Kaminari paused from where he was putting his cup away, eyebrows furrowed as he looked back at her, "you heard something?"

She didn't see anything- but her hearing has always been damn good. The living room was still empty, the tv illuminating the dark space.

He learned over her, and she hated the way her breathing hitched when she felt his shoulder brush over her own, "Hm, well I don't see anything. It was probably one of the first floor guys getting busy upstairs," he winked at her, laughing as she shoved him off. Mineta's room was right above where they were standing, and _oh **hell** no_\- she was not going to think of that little grape fucker tonight.

Kaminari laughed at her expression, the sheer disgust that twisted her normally pretty face being absolutely HILARIOUS to look at. Mineta was a bit much at times (though he's still his bro), but he had no clue the girls hated him that much.

She looks back over the living room once again. She squinted to see the clock over the tv- **3:49am**.

Jesus Christ, she needs to get some sleep. That's probably what's causing all this stuff.

Kaminari slid past her from where she was scanning over the living room, heading back towards the stairwell.

"You coming?"

She locked eyes with him, purple meeting gold. Normally, she'd decline, desparate to get away from the boy that made her mind feel like mush- the boy that made her heart twinge in a way that wasn't quite unpleasant.

But, you know what? It might be the sleep deprivation talking, but tonight, she didn't seem to mind all that much.

"Yeah," she turned around, leaving the illuminated common area before her, "I'm coming."

All that was left was the two unwashed cups in the sink.  
_

"So, do you think that pictures are just real life screenshots?"

The lights are still on when they find their way back to Kaminari's room. He doesn't even need to ask her to stay as they both enter his room, Jirou pretty much collapsing on the edge of his bed with a groan.

"Can you please stop saying that?"

She's glaring up at him from where she's laying down, hair sprawled out underneath her as she rolls into her back. Messy or not, his bed was really comfy.

"But am I wrong?"

"Do I need to answer that?" She cradled one of his pillows to her chest, knowing what the dumb expression on his face was bound to look like as she unspokenly agreed with him.

They had gone back to his room right after the whole kitchen thing, Kaminari filling up the silence with stupid one liners that made her want to die. No, Kaminari, pigeons don't have feelings. Little flying rats...

It was too late for her to be having an existential crisis.

"What time is it?" She peeks up from the pillow, purple eyes in no way watching him as he turns on his phone, watching as he smiled at his background (one of the whole class), and as he squints at the little white letters that told the time.

"Like, 3:57?"

"Oh jeez, We're going to be so wrecked tomorrow," She groans, burying her face into the pillow, "class is going to kill us."

He rummaged around his stuff, meeting her glare with a sheepish smile as stray items nearly hit her in the face.

"Well, I suppose it's time for you to get used to feeling dead all day, miss 'number 7 in the class'."

She rolls her eyes, nudging him over with her foot, "You fake, I'm already dead inside."

She smiles a bit as she sees his face light up with laughter, yellow eyes sparkling as he rummages theough all his knick knacks.

"Fine, 'Miss Tokoyami-wannabe' would be an even better title."

She chucked the pillow at him, ignoring his laughter. She wouldn't call herself quite as edgy as Tokoyami, but she couldn't deny that they shared similar interests (she had once caught him jamming out to MCR. It would've been a crime not to join in).

"Found it!"

He pulled out his guitar from underneath his pile of stuff. She would've had a stroke at how he was treating it, but at least he was kind enough to keep it in a case.

"That's what you were looking for?" She raised an eyebrow, having expected something like.. actually, she didn't know what she expected.

"Yeah! Nothing like having a jam session at 4 in the morning!"

"Have you ever had one?" She's had plenty with her dad, until her mom found out and told them to save it for later. She loves her mom dearly, but she knows not to mess with her when she's mad.

Huh, maybe that's where she got it from.

"I mean, not really?" He shrugs, sitting down on the bed beside her, "I listen to the the tracks you sent me for the culture festival and all, but I don't really know enough I get far."

"All that at 4 in the morning?"

He smiled sheepishly, "That's just how it be sometimes."

Oh. The reason she was in his room in the first place flashed in her mind- his broken smile, sad eyes.. Yikes, it seemed like so long ago, but, in reality, it was only an hour or so ago.

But, he was really making an effort.

She hated the part of her that thought that she couldn't depend on him, because, well, he really was trying. Maybe he wasn't too great at it, but he was making more of an effort than she could've ever thought.

And jeez, she's glad it was him who got to guitar spot instead of Mineta.

"But please, Jirou, sing for me!" She can see the stars in his eyes as he held out the guitar to her, face open and honest, nothing like the conflicted face he had shown her earlier, "Think of it as practice or something!"

..What?

Ah yes, practicing for the culture festival. The late nights, the sore fingers, the overall pressure of it all has been absolute hell the past few weeks. But there he was, his fingers bandaged as he held out that guitar to her, the very same one she gave him at th he beginning. He's still smiling, still wants her to do her best.

It's a lot to take in.

Honestly, with the look he was giving her- the one with absolute faith, the absolutely stupid smile, his bright eyes, she's reminded of something Mina told her earlier.

"He's your number 1 fan, you know."

"What?"

Mina was pretty much hanging off of the couch, her legs thrown over and dangling off of the surface as she cranes her neck to look at Jirou, "You heard me- my main man Kami is your biggest fan."

All the girls were chilling in the common room, having a ladies night(all the boys were strictly banned. Besides Kirishima. Kirishima was chill).

"Oh yeah, he's totally into you," Hagakure blurted out , looking up from where she was painting Ochako's nails. It was a weird sight to see, considering the paint seemed to just... appear out of nowhere. Not the point.

"So, what do you think?" Mina sat up, hands on Jirou's shoulders as she looked into her eyes.

Mina has always had these piercing eyes- probably because they were all black, but goddamn, they were intimidating- especially when she had that look, the one that showed that she was plotting something.

"He's not that bad," Jirou blurts out, face flushing as she looked down. She stares at her hands, trying not to imagine the way his fingers would feel if he held them, if she would be able to feel the electricity bubbling up underneath his fingers. "He's an idiot, sure, but he's trying. Which I didn't think was something he was capable of."

She had no idea how it happened- how her view on the boy who looked like a discount Pikachu changed to, well, this. It was like one day the switch just flipped; she started laughing back at his stupid jokes, she started to see the intelligence that he had hidden under that goofy smile, and the thought of him getting hurt went from sad to unbearable.

She'd spent so long trying to avoid the truth, refusing to put her feelings into words. Well, it was going to happen eventually- but she didn't expect it to be shoved in her face so soon.

Maybe it was when he encouraged her to sing for the culture festival, maybe it was the way he looked at her when she sang in front of the class.. maybe it was just.. him in general.

"Oh? Is that compassion I hear?" she refuses to look up as Mina turns toward her, rolling back onto her stomach. Mina had that look in her eyes again- the twinkle that they had all come to know. It was a sign of something, that she was plotting.

Really, this midnight heart to heart really showed her how layered Kaminari was. He wasn't just that idiot that happened to fry his brain on a daily basis- he was so much more than that.

Deep down, she knew that he was, she saw the way he cared for his friends, saw the way that he never faltered, even when his life was at stake. She saw the way he always turned to her with a smile and a stupid joke- knowing she hated it (she loved it), but always went out of his way anyway.

"Yeah, I know what's up," Mina paused, snapping her fingers. Jirou swore that those black eyes of hers were staring into her soul, and, honestly, she wouldn't doubt it. "You really fell for him, didn't you? You fell for Denki Kaminari."

_"Mina!"_

She had denied it, had shaken her head and shoved her face into the pillow to hide her blush. She had wanted to deny it, that the guy she pretty much harassed on a daily basis had somehow warmed his way into her heart.

Yeah, somehow she had fallen in love with Denki Kaminari.

At least Mina promised she wouldn't "steal her mans" (as she put it). That comment made her bury her face into her hands even more, wishing that, for once, she was the one with the invisibility quirk instead of Hagakure.

She sighs, shaking her head. She's never really seen it before now, the way he looked at her like she had the world in her hands. She's never seen the faint blush on his cheeks whenever her eyes meet his. She's never seen him outside of his normal, stupid(ly cute) self- the self she found herself being drawn to.

But now, at 4 in the morning, all of those things are all too apparent.

Jesus Christ. It's too much to hope for, that maybe- just _maybe_, even with all the shit she puts him through- even with how bad she's treated him, maybe he liked her back- maybe he even saw her as a friend.

She looks up, and goddamn it, he's giving her those stupid puppy dog eyes. Really, those things should be illegal. Who gives him the right.

She's known for her poker face, but, as his amber eyes threaten to pull her in to the point of no return, she gives in.

"Fine," she reaches out, black painted nails grasping the neck of the guitar, "only if you shut up about it."

Kaminari's eyes were such a bright anber, the genuine appreciation and gratitude in their depths making them warm, Jirou felt herself being pulled in for the 20th time that night.

He looks like a kid in a candy store, eyes wide, smile infectious, as he reached out, passing the guitar to her.

She can't fight the upwardtug of her lips, and shit, she's smiling. In a way, they are being forced to grow up way too to fast. They're only 16. They still have a lot of growing up to do, but they've already experienced so much.

I guess the whole 'shit dude, I might die tomorrow' thing just comes in the whole hero package.

And, sometimes such things cause even the strongest of people to falter.

But...

She's looking at him, but his attention is now focused on one of her deep dope posters. There's that annoying look on his face again, the same one that he had when he was telling her to share her passions with the class. There's that look in his eyes, that tilt of his head, the way his fingers twitch as if he wanted to reach out and grasp the guitar for himself.

And, even through all this villain bullshit, he's still always smiling, always fighting, always so stubbornly loyal even when he doesn't approve.

The bed shifts, and he's turned back to her again, hands on his knees and he's looking at her oh _shit_-

She might just be a little head over heels.

_Ah, jeez._

She managed to avert her eyes, her face heating up quickly. It was really unfair how this idiot had her wrapped around his finger, even if he didn't know it yet.

He grinned, flopping down onto the bed next to her. She winced as the guitar in her hands hit against his knee, but he didn't seem to notice.

"What's it like to sing and play guitar at the same time?" he asks, running his hands up and down the neck of the guitar, a cocky grin playing on his lips. She sighs, giving him a glare as she swats his hand away from the precious instrument. He's so unbelievably childlike at time, and she never really knows how to respond to it- she's an only child, and yikes, it was overwhelming.

"Oh honey, Don't even get me started."

His eyes widen, and suddenly, he snorted, leaning back against his bed frame.

She chucks a pillow at him when he laughs, turning her face away from him as she hits him squat win the face. She doesn't even know what she did, but she doesn't want to take any chances

"What?"

"I just never took you for an, 'oh honey, ' person." He snickers, ignoring her glare, "have you been hanging out with Aoyama?"

She shudders as she thinks of the eccentric boy. She respects him, sure, but jeez- the sparkles. They were polar opposites, and there was no way in hell that she would associate herself with someone as, well, "_bright" _as he.

"Do you want me to sing or not?"

"Yes ma'am!"

That makes him shut up, his eyes still pleading as she quickly tunes the guitar.

"Huh, maybe that's why it sounded so weird when I tried to play," he looks over at her hands as they expertly turn the knobs, making sure that the sound on the guitar was just right.

"...You didn't tune it?" She asked incredulously, fingers pausing on the knobs.

"Do you think I know how to?"

...Fair point. She probably should've taught him how to do that when she was teaching him for the culture festival. How the hell did she miss something so important?

But there was no way in hell she was giving up her pride for this.

"You know what? I'm not surprised."

She turns back to tuning the guitar, but not before she caught the betrayed expression on his face.

"Hey! I'm trying my best!"

"I know."

He looks surprised when she doesn't retort for once, but she looks down, focusing back on the guitar and not the way her cheeks flushed.

"What're you gonna sing, one of them deep dope songs? I've never heard any."

"First of all, no- at this time, singing one of their songs would definitely wake everyone up. And second of all, that's illegal. Their music is the best."

It's too early in the morning for rock. Sure, she loves the genre dearly, but she doesn't want to risk anyone waking up and finding her in Kaminari's room.

In any other person's room.. maybe, but she knows that she's never hear the end of it if Mina knows that she spent the night in Kaminari's room. Alone. With him. The boy she had a crush on.

The thought made her want to curl up in a ball and shrivel up on the spot. But, while she was dying internally, externally she had finished tuning the guitar, making sure that it was properly tuned by playing a few chords.

So, if it isn't rock.. normal music it is?

Her song choice other than rock is relatively limited. Yikes. She needed to fix that. But there was a song at the back of her mind, the one she had heard on the radio the other day- a soft one, one that wouldn't wake anyone up, yet one that suited her voice.

She couldn't believe that she was doing this.

She began to strum out the first few chords, fingers deftly coursing over each string. From in front of her, Kaminari was leaning in, head in his hands, face squished, as he watched her begin to play, amber eyes wide and excited.

Maybe Mina was right. He was her number 1 fan.

"If you're going to look at me like that, you might as well take notes."

She smiles a bit when she sees him flush, sitting up instead of leaning his head in his hands like he had before. His hair was a mess, and it was illegal that he looked that good- especially at 4 in the morning.

Much like him, she flushed as well.

Even with all the turmoil in her mind, she played the chords without fail, not stumbling even when she felt like dying from embarrassment.

Music has always been her stability, and maybe, just maybe, it could save her this time too (though she doesn't really know if she wants to be saved in the first place).

Ah, screw it.

"_All I am is a man,_" she starts, voice shaking slightly as she gets into the melody, "_I got the world in my hands,_" Kaminari smiled as her voice gets stronger- more sure. He nods at her, leaning his head in the palm of his hand as he watches.

His eyes darted up to hers, catching her staring at him as she played. She tensed, still hitting the notes but missing the beat, the lyrics stuttering off her lips for a second longer than needed.

The air still feels vaguely electric, but Kaminari always makes her feel sparks.

She swallows and keeps going.

"_I hate the beach, but I stand in California with my toes in the sand."_

She's always been the kind of person who closes her eyes when she sings- always been the kind of person who loved to imagine the scene, to see what it would be like if she were living it in the moment.

"_Use the sleeves of my sweater, let's have an adventure_,"

She allows the darkness that came with closing her eyes to engulf her, allowing the muscle memory of playing each and every chord to lead her. She feels the weight of the guitar in her arms, the way the bed beneath her dipped beneath both their weights, the warmth of his body next to hers.

In that moment, it was them and only them.

"_Head in the clouds but my gravity's centered,"_

In an instant, she was no longer in Kaminari's room.

She imagined the flashing lights- courtesy of Aoyama being the disco ball. She imagined the dance team below them, dancing their hearts out as they all fought to gain the approval of the other classes- as they all have their hearts out to the little girl who had yet to smile.

"_Touch my neck, and I'll touch yours,"_

She imagined the band, her band as they finally played the song they had practiced all month.

She imagined herself, in front of the band members, singing into the microphone with all that she had, hands just barely shaking as she played the guitar that was strapped around her neck.

She imagined Tokoyami, strumming his guitar in front of her and absolutely killing the f-chord portion of the song. She hears his fans cheering his name, though she knows that he'll deny having any. That's just like him- too humble for his own good.

She imagines Momo, her fingers floating across the piano keys, her rich girl upbringing coming in handy. She's focused, eyes hungrily staring at the keys as she plays the needed melody. She never knew her friend could look so fierce, but, honestly, Momo always found ways to surprise you.

She smiles as she sings, thinking of her best friend.

"_You and your little high waisted shorts."_

She imagined Bakugou. Oh honey, he's a trainwreck. Well, a good one. He's doing his thing, but that doesn't stop the explosions. She prays for whoever has to pay for property damage.

And, well, she imagined him, the last member of their little band. He's floating, literally, as he uses the momentum from Satou's throw to grab everyone's eyes, trusting Sero to catch him as he continues to play the melody.

They lock eyes, and, as the lyrics flow out of her mouth, she's smiling.

It didn't take too long to finish the song, ending it with a gentle strum of her fingers.

"_The holes of my sweater_..."

"Damn," she hears the breathy whisper from in front of her, and she slowly opens her eyes. He's much too close- so goddamn close. Their faces are only mere inches apart.

She can see the scars that adorned his face, the little lightning bolts that seemed to be underneath his skin.

And holy _shit_ they're too close.  
Her eyes widen, and she scrambled backward, head nearly slamming into his bedframe.

"Shut up!" He laughs at her comment, but scoots backward, his own cheeks a little pink after realizing their proximity.

"But really, Kyo, you're damn good at this! I knew we could believe in you!"

Jirou turns her head to look at him, and finds him already looking at her. There's darkness at the back of her mind, but there's something peeking through it- something bright.

He's her light.

...She really was head over heels.

And, honestly, with the way he's looking back at her, she'd like to think that he thinks the same.

"Can I try?" She raised an eyebrow as he eagerly takes the guitar from her hands, hands positioned in a manner that vaguely resembled a g chord. He was trying, that's what mattered..

She hoped to god he wouldn't do something stupid. Last time, when she was trying to teach him a few easy songs to help him train for the culture festival, the only things he could remember how to play were those stupid tik tock songs (she swears that, if she hears 'hit or miss' again, she will have an aneurysm).

"_My heart's_-"

Ignoring the incredibly out of place E chord, she nudged his shoulder, "If you're going to sing the song that I think you're going to be doing- I swear to god."

"- _a stereo. It beats for you so listen close._" He nudged her with his shoulder, laughing as he saw the small smile that she was unable to hide, "_Your melody's in every note."_

That it was, that one song he bullied her with since the day he found out that she was into music ("It's literally you! Stereo heart! You know, with your earphone jacks!").

...Okay. He wasn't a bad singer. Far from it. Sure, he had no clue how to control his breathing- but he had a nice voice.

She's a music nerd. The fact that he could sing alone was enough to make her fall even harder for him.

"_Make me your my radio, I'll turn you up when you feel low."_

..Maybe this wouldn't feel so stifling if he was focusing on the chords. But no, he's focused on her, randomly strumming out a few of the chords that she had taught him, a soft smile on his face.

Unlike her when she played, his eyes were open, shining with an emotion that she couldn't decipher. Purple eyes met yellow, and, for the 20th time that night, she felt her heart in her throat.

"_This melody was meant for you_," he stopped, continuing to strum the same chord over again, as if waiting. She saw that look in his eye, the expectant one- the one that came along with that stupid smile.

She smiled, rolling her eyes. "_So sing along to my stereo."_

It was far too cheesy- considering her heartbeat was literally a stereo. If she had a penny every time someone joked about the song with her, she'd be rich.

But, with that goofy smile on his face- and how he obviously thought that he was being clever, she couldn't help but smile back.

"Yes! Finally got her to sing with me!" He air fist pumped, as if he had just won some sort of prize.

"You wanted me to sing with you?" She raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest, "You could've asked- I wouldn't have said no."

Okay, that's a lie. She probably would have died on the spot had he asked her, her earphone jacks probably acting of their own accord and stabbing at him. Yikes. She could already see the headline: Denki Kaminari found dead in Miami.

"Eh, I dunno- I just didn't want to get stabbed with your earphone jacks again- those things hurt!"

..Point taken.

"And I didn't think you could get any less romantic…" she rolled her eyes, trying to hide how flustered she was feeling. He kept showering her in all these compliments and, while it wasn't unwelcome, she wasn't used to it.

Huh, that's Kaminari for you.

"Romantic?" He raises an eyebrow, stopping mid action, the guitar still in his hands.

"You know what I mean!"

He, being a dumbass, absolutely did not. He wouldn't tell her though. Nah, he didn't want to get stabbed with her earphone jacks tonight.

So he just changed the topic.

"Man, it sucks that I can't figure out the chords though.." He pouts, looking like a puppy that was just denied if a treat, "I tried looking online, but nothing worked! I even tried to get Bakubro to help me, but he just told me to fuck off before sauntering off after Kirishima."

There's a fond sort of frustration in his words, and she gets it- she sees the way that Momo goes out of her way to talk to Todoroki, though it sometimes meant that Jirou herself was left alone. She loves her best friend, but jeez, confess to the dude already.

..She's being a hypocrite.

"I'll teach you." She's twirling one of her earphone jacks in between her fingers, feigning nonchalance as she watches him freeze.

"Really?!" She tried her best o ignore the way his face lit up, completely shocked.

"Think of it as practice for the culture festival, or something."

She tried to ignore the fact that she should really get started on teaching him the song they're doing for the culture festival as opposed to, well, a completely different song. But, when Kaminari had his mind set on something, he made sure to give it his all. And, with the guitar in his lap, she figured that, this time, that would be the case too.

..Maybe an extra song won't hurt.

"Okay, so where should we start?"

He brushed over a few of the strings, genuinely confused as to how to do this. He really did try learning it- he wanted to show off and show Jirou that _yeah_, he was serious about helping her with the culture festival. He wanted the class to win- he wanted to be apart of it!

He meant it when he thought that her being able to play all those instruments was cool. Because it was! It was dope as hell! He wished that he could do something like that, and it sucked that she didn't see her talent.

So, by sticking to her side whenever mentions of the culture festival came up, he vowed that he would absolutely kill it when it came down to the actual performance. He'd make her see that, _hell yeah_, she's a rock star.

I guess the truth is, he just wanted her to be happy.

He watched as she began to talk about chords, a stupid smile on his face even though he had no goddamn clue what she was talking about.

_Let's hope she doesn't realize_.

"Well, the first chord is F.." she trailed off, catching Kaminari's helpless "You have no idea what that is, do you?"

..Whoops. Too obvious.

He smiled sheepishly, "..Am I supposed to?"

She could only sigh, shaking her head (her eyes hurt from rolling her eyes so much). "Here, I'll show you."

He held out the guitar to her, but she shook her head, instead pushing it back towards him, before taking his hand in her own.

The moment she did, she let herself seek out that warmth, let herself reach out a little hesitantly, curling her fingers on top of his.

"F is like this," she gently lifts his hand off of the fretboard, placing his fingers on the correct frets. "Barring the first fret is annoying, but you'll get the hang of it."

She lifts her hand for a moment, allowing him to play the chord. It sounded alright, but it could be better with practice. "Next is D, which is pretty easy," she puts her hand on top of his again, ready to show him the next finger placements.

_"I take your hand and hold it closer to mine_," he jokingly sings, allowing Jirou to move his hand to the position of the next chord.

_I thought love was dead but now you're changing my mind_

As she thinks the next lyrics, she can't help but think about how cliche this whole this is. First, sharing their traumas in the dark, two lost souls helping each other find themselves bit by bit, then the whole 'milk' thing(she fights a shudder at the whole milk thing still. Warm milk is gross!).

Now, they're singing together, cheeks rosy as she teaches him a song that was, well, pretty much about her.

Underneath her hand, his palm is clammy and she feels a spark travel through her arm for the barest of seconds. But it's gone in a flash, leaving nothing but tingles that raced through her veins. She doesn't move her hand, even as he experimentally played the chord, smiling when it came out sounding good.

Jirou lost herself in the warmth of Kaminari's hand underneath her own, not thinking about letting go. Not wanting to either.

He doesn't say anything about it.

A part of her hopes that he doesn't want her to let go either.

"You want to try it out for yourself?" She says, showing him the last few chords. Her hand is still loose on top of his, holding his hand in place.

"Well, will you sing with me if I do?" He has the cheeky smile again, and while she doesn't know why he's so obsess with her singing, she doesn't find it unwelcome either. It's actually kind of... flattering.

She rolls her eyes, "if it means that you shut up and we get at least an hours sleep, then yes."

"Alright! Let's get started then!"

As he starts to play, she feels the crackle of electricity underneath his palm, and, even though her mother always told her that she shouldn't play with electricity, she's glad she has this time.

After all, Kaminari has alway made her feel sparks.

* * *

**_A/n: Hope you enjoyed :) Please leave a comment! _**


	2. Lightning Strikes Twice

**_A/n: Here's part two! _**

**_Please review! They make my day and it's the only reason why I'm writing part three to this 😭_**

**_I _****_hope you enjoy!_**

* * *

Of all the things that he expected today to bring, this was most definitely not one of them.

At times, small slivers of light flashed across his vision, creating a bokeh effect in the world that he was in. He couldn't see, but he knew that he was there, that _something_ was happening.

That he should be aware.

He had had this feeling before, and he knew damn well that it wasn't a good one - that it was one that showed something bad was about to happen and that he really should snap out of it.

He opened his mouth to speak, his mind still feeling far too foggy for him to really be able to form coherent sentences, but he should be able to ask what's going on, right?

"Whey?"

Oh shit, it had happened again, hadn't it?

They were on their first UA high school field trip, right? Then the League of Villains appeared and everyone had gotten separated. He had somehow landed with Yaomomo and Jirou (score!) and together they had kicked ass up until this point.

He was tired, about now he could recognize it as the grogginess that came with the over exertion of his quirk, the kind that made him go all 'stupid mode'. Nice going. Seems like he had fucked up again.

"God damn it, Kaminari!" The purple haired girl in front of him seethed, standing protectively in front of Momo as she put her hands up.

_Jirou? _

He recognized them through the haze, and he saw just how terrified they both looked.

But why? Why were they standing like that? Why does they look so scared? What was going on? Why wasn't he with them? Why was he-

A hand crackling with electricity suddenly entered his tunnels vision, and all he could do was recoil in fear.

Oh. That's what had happened.

From afar, he watched Jirou grit her teeth. He wanted nothing more than to go over there and help her - especially since he knew that he was the one that caused all of this.

_Get yourself together, man! _

But all he could do was offer a thumbs up as a response, nearly knocking his own hand against the villain's charged up one.

Just because he's also an electric type quirk user doesn't mean the effects of being electrocuted are much different than on a normal person.

"Don't even try to trick me again either," the villain held his hand closer to Kaminari's face, grinning when he heard the boy's strangled yell, "I'm not as stupid as I look."

He then saw Jirou retract her earphone jack. So she had been trying to save him! He was worth fighting for! They'll probably get out of this together with Jirou's smart thinking on their side!

He's dizzy, his head feeling lighter than ever, maybe from the happiness he felt from her doing that or maybe (most likely) because his quirk really was messing with his head.

But her next words are what caught him off guard - stupid mode or not.

"Fine, I won't." She looked up, the troubled look in her eyes from before gone, "He isn't worth it."

"Jirou, what?" From beside her, Momo whipped her head around, shocked, "We can't just leave him!"

"What're you talking about? Of course we can!" Jirou threw her hands up, "We tried already, Momo! It isn't worth it! There's nothing we can do!"

He pulled his attention from a nearby lizard that had caught his eye, just barely processing her words.

_What? _

"You're really going to leave him here?" Even the villain seemed surprised at how cold she was being, but the smirk on his face only widened, "Not even worth it for you to help him stay alive?"

The villain placed his hand right above his chest, and Kaminari winced as he felt a few stray sparks singe through the fabric of his shirt.

Jirou didn't falter with her next words, instead taking Momo's hand in her own (something he really shouldn't be feeling jealous about, especially when he's literally being held hostage, but even when he's like this he can't fight that jealous twinge he felt in his chest).

"Then let him die," Purple eyes were cold as they met amber, narrowed and unfeeling, "he's the one who got us in this situation."

Through the fog, he wonders if this is another bluff, if this is an attempt at a distraction, so she can plug her jacks into her boots and save his sorry ass.

But when she pulls at Momo's arm, dragging her back towards the sound of explosions(most definitely Bakugou), he realized that that wasn't the case.

_No.. _

He wanted to scream, wanted to pull himself out of the villains hold, wanted to punch himself for getting himself - for getting them all in this stupid situation.

And all he could do was offer a stupid fucking "whey" and a thumbs up in return.

Momo looks back as Jirou this her away, regret and turmoil clear on her face. But when she tried to stop, Jirou - his _friend_, only pulled harder, ignoring the laughter of the villain behind them.

He doesn't know if there's anything else he could do, any way to get out of this - any way that, even if she still hated him, that jirou would come back and save him because _shit, _he didn't want to die, not now, not soon, and definitely not like _this_.

He dreamed of being a hero - not a casualty of his first fucking high school field trip. Not someone who died before he even got to be on the front lines - before he even graduated!

Fuck! He really was the reason that they had gotten in this situation. Maybe they'd all be able to graduate together if he hadn't been so stupid! If he actually knew how to use his goddamn quirk!

And, as soon as she had said those word, they were gone. They really had left him there.

The villain flexed his hand from where it was placed on Kaminari's chest - right over his heart, a cold grin on his face as he watched the two girls retreat.

Kaminari didn't even look at the villain's hand, eyes trained over the ridge where the two girls had run. This had to be a prank, right? Any second now, they'd come running back - everyone in the class. Kirishima would laugh, slapping him on the back. Mina and Sero would tease him about how scared he looked. Bakugou would roll his eyes at him. The villain would probably unmask himself to be All Might like that one training session that one time. Yeah, this had to be one of those!

All in all, Jirou would be there. She'd smile apologetically at him, and laugh at him when he offered a 'whey' in return. She had always found that thing funny. He loved making her laugh. A lot.

He wanted to hear that laugh again.

A minute passed, then two, then three, and something within his foggy mind told him that this wasn't a joke - that they weren't coming.

"How heroic." The villain took his eyes away from the ridge, as if he was also waiting for some sort of a surprise attack. He shook his head, eyes looking far too wild for Kaminari to even consider him sane, "Never would've expected this outcome."

He knows this feeling, the one crackling beneath the other man's palms; it's the crackle of electricity as it's about to exit one's body.

"Well, they did say get rid of as many of you as possible."

The sensation he felt right over his chest grew stronger, a little tingly, like the feeling he got whenever he overcharged himself.

He's panicking, wanting to scream, but all he could do was look on in horro, his stupid self on being able to offer a thumbs up in reply.

He didn't want to die - not without apologizing to Jirou, not without being able to say goodbye. He wanted to see his mom again, he wanted to see his friends.

He wanted to be a hero, even if it was for a second.

"This might hurt a bit."

It didn't take long, the electricity going straight to Kaminari's heart.

He let out a strangled scream, his vision going black as more and more electricity zapped through him, causing him to convulse and half heartedly grab at the other man's arm.

Even as he took his last breath, her cold, purple eyes haunted him.

He woke with a gasp.

He was covered in a cold sweat. His body was shaking, his heart raced, and he couldn't breathe. He felt like he just got out of a rough training session, with the way his heart seemed intent on beating out of his chest.

That was one hell of a nightmare- it felt so _real_.

He frantically looked around, veins burning with the need to release as he whipped his head around, checking around for any signs of danger.

His skin is buzzing with electricity, the warmth underneath his skin near scalding as he struggled to control himself.

"Shit," he sits up, holding his face in his hands. He breathes, trying to calm himself down, trying to stop the electricity from bubbling up within him and causing him to short circuit.

_In for 4, hold for 7, release for 5 _

He tried to use the tip that Kirishima had taught him, but there's still a tightness in his chest that he can't shake off- the same tightness he felt when he used his power- the kind that was there before he lost control.

His room swayed, his dizziness brought on by his panic; his chest heaved and he could feel the sweat dripping down his face. Fuck, why was he letting that dream get the best of him?

_"Then let him die." _

Beaides those few words and the coldness in her eyes, he didn't remember the majority of his nightmare, the scenes that had scared him shitless dissapearing from his memory the second his opened his eyes.

The horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach wasn't going away. If anything, now he just felt downright sick, his head spinning at her words.

He was afraid. There was no point to saying it was anything else, because it was that fear that prevented him from telling her the truth. He feared what she'd do, of what she'd say; he feared hurting her more than he already had. The very same fear that landed them here in the first place, when he was sure that she didn't feel the same way.

God, he was so fucking weak.

He closed his eyes, sitting up on his bed. He didn't care - he _shouldn't. _It's just a dream; it isn't real.

He wanted nothing more than to go crawl back into bed and let things blow over.

But, each time he tried to close his eyes, he saw them- those purple eyes that looked far too real- far too cold, far too _similar_ to her own.

"Ugh!"

He pressed his face into his pillow, curling his hands into fists and clutching the material tightly in his fingers. It didn't matter. He was fine with what they had. He didn't care about what it could have been like - he just cared about making sure that when it came down to it, Jirou was still his friend- he'd even take her as an acquaintance! He just didn't want to lose her.

That would be enough.

But no matter how much he told himself that, it didn't seem to ease the ache that was starting to develop in his chest.

Needless to say, it was dark when Kaminari realized what he needed to do.

Honestly, laying up and staring at your ceiling for a couple of hours really let's you think- let's you ascend from your normal way of life. Maybe it's just the lack of sleep talking, but _goddamn _, Kaminari could legit hear colors.

He hated it - being able to sit and _remember _like this.

_It's just a dream, dude! Why are so worked up about it! _

He sighed, sitting up when he wasn't able to find an answer to his own question.

He slides off his bed, wincing when he knocks his toes against one of his skateboards. He should really clean his room, considering that he actually has people over now but..

He looks around his room, grinning when he finds everything he needs.

What's the point of cleaning if you're just going to mess it up again?

He steps over his skateboard, carefully making his way over to the door with practiced steps.

He's done this before - well, he either does this, watches vine compilations, or charges himself for a couple hours. Who knew that having electricity crackling underneath your skin could make you so restless?

He opens his door, quietly closing it before stepping fully out into the hallway. The floor is quiet, which is something he isn't used to; he's usually out and about, messing around with his friends in these very same halls.

But now, at 3am, everything's.. Quiet.

It's weird.

He suppresses a shudder as the hallways seem to engulf him with their darkness, hands coming up to grip at his sides. There's usually a light or something, be it from underneath the others' doors.

But, again, it's 3am.

He's tempted to use his electricity for lighting, but he knows how that will probably end up(last time he did that, he short circuited the whole building. Aizawa sensei was NOT happy).

He walks past the other's doors, smiling softly as he thinks of his friends, but his eyes are seeking out the purple door at the end of the corridor.

It doesn't take him long to get to it, because, well, the dorms weren't very far away from each other (and he totally wasn't walking quick just to get to her faster. Nah, he isn't that desperate. Totally.. who's he kidding. He totally is.)

Was it worth it to wake her up? Was he bothering her? He sucked in a breath as he stood in front of her door.

_It's all or nothing... _

"Jirou?" His said, voice quiet as he knocked on her door. "You up?"

He's usually the one who doesn't hesitate to throw an arm around someone's shoulders, the one who doesn't hesitate to give his bro a slap on the back or a handshake- hell, he's even gone as far as to hug some of his friends. What can he say, he's a touchy feely guy.

But, it's not like that with Jirou.

For some reason, it never is.

She's a mystery, and, honestly, that's one of the things he likes the most about her; she speaks her mind, she's smart(not the intimidating Yaomomo kind of smart - but still hella smart), she's cute(Mineta can fuck off about the 'flat girls can't be cute' thing).

And, call him a masochist all you want, but he can't help but admire the way she sticks up for herself(though she is rather violent about it, considering how many times he's been on the receiving end of her jacks being embedded into his skin).

Then again, he's always been weak for girls that are able to kick his ass.

No response.

He frowns, lifting his hand to knock again.

_Nah, I shouldn't wake her up for something as stupid as this. _He thinks and shrugs, stepping away from the door.

It was stupid to hope for her support for yet another night. He shouldn't have gotten his hopes up.

Though his footsteps are light as he heads downstairs, his heart is heavy.

The tv was off this time.

The common area was lit with the eerie glow of the broken light from the kitchen. Everyone hated how it flickered, but no one had the guts to tell Aizawa that the dorms needed yet _another _update.

It was quiet, aside from the flickering light. No Mario Kart this time, no banter to fill the silence. He was alone.

Ew, it was weird.

They'd been in the dorms for only a few months now, but, in a way, they seemed to be more of a home than his old home was. Don't get him wrong - he loved his parents, but he spent more time at school and with friends than at home anyway.

So that's why it was so weird to him - that this huge building could be so... Quiet, well, besides the quiet hum from the refrigerator.

He shrugs to himself, walking through the common room. It was a mild surprise when he saw that the kitchen light was already on, someone clearly having used it recently.

Yeah, leaving on the lights was normal around here - but he didn't expect to see someone at this time of night - especially not _her_.

In other words, it was late when Kaminari found her.

She's sitting at the countertop, head buried in her arms. There's an empty glass next to her, shoved away from her as if it personally insulted her.

With the humming from the refrigerator doing little to fill in the silence between them, Kaminari knew he had to make the first move.

As many people have told him, Denki Kaminari is literally incapable of shutting up. It's a trait of his that he's proud of. Silent room? Cue him laughing at something stupid. That definitely gets people going. People sad? Boom, he cracks a joke to lighten up the atmosphere.

Yeah, sure, being the joke of the class can hurt sometimes, but he doesn't mind it as long as he makes people happy.

"So, no Mario kart this time, huh?"

The joke falls flat before it's even out of his mouth, the girl in front of him immediately whipping her head up to glare at him.

Purple eyes meet his own, defensive, but lacking the usual bite that usually came with them.

God, she's only 5'0, but he knows that she can kick his ass with that look alone.

"Very funny," She deadpans, and he cant help but notice the bags that were under her normally brighter eyes, "I'm crying with laughter."

Okay, cynical Jirou time it is. She could be dry humored sometimes, but not usually as bad as this. She seems sick and tired of everyone's shit. Is that how Bakugou always feels?

"You good, Jirou?"

She groaned, pretty much slamming her head down against the counter. He had to bite his tongue to stop himself from saying 'mood' (He's been hanging around Mina too much).

"I tried the milk thing," she looks up from where her head had been resting against the countertop. He snorted at the red mark that was on her forehead from slamming her head into the desk. She sighed, glaring at him, "it didn't work. It was gross, by the way."

He chuckled at that, "Hey, what can I say?" He opened the fridge, taking out the milk carton. Unlike last time, she didn't flinch as he chugged it from the container, not even bothering to throw it away as he finished it.

But that didn't stop her from eyeing the empty milk carton distastefully, only sighing as he slammed it back down onto the marble countertop.

"Man, what I wouldn't give for a coffee right now." She said, slumped against the kitchen counter, head in her hands as she looks up at him, purple eyes far too tired, "so much for getting a good night's sleep."

She seemed drained, and it's so unlike her. She's usually headstrong and fierce, but now she's just not herself.

"For real, Kyo, you okay?"

She glares at him for the nickname, as if that would suffice as an answer for someone as (admittedly dumb) as he. He'll never understand girls and their mixed signals.

But he knows what brought him down here- those shitty nightmares.

It sucks that others have to deal with the same thing.

"Was it a nightmare?" He leaned against the counter, resting his head on his hands.

He's met with a groan as her forehead makes contact with the counter once again. He's actually kind of tempted to try doing that - just to see if it'll help anything. Not now though.

Instead, he slid onto the stool that was next to her, leaning his head on his arm- the same level she was at.

"Care to share?"

She shifted so her face was facing his, and jeez this was a flustering situation. He doesn't usually mind being really close to people- hell, he's usually the one invading people's privacy. But this is Jirou that he's talking about, and he's honestly surprised that she's let him that close.

"Well," Her eyes shifted, looking at the countertop instead of his face, "it really isn't anything worth talking about."

"Come on!" He pouted, sticking his bottom lip out, "You listened to me last time. It's the least I could do!"

For once, she doesn't fight back, instead biting her lip as her eyes remained glued to the countertop.

At her reaction, he kind of felt bad that he blabbed about all his problems instead of asking her first. But, for her, he didn't mind listening! He wanted to help- he really did.

"For real, Jirou," he said, quieter, resting a hand on her arm, "you can trust me."

For a split second, her eyes glanced up, purple meeting yellow as their eyes met. But, in the blink of an eye, her eyes were focused back on the tabletop.

_So close! _

He opened his mouth to say some more encouraging words, because what else could he really say in this situation, but he was cut off when she started to speak:

"I have dreams about the training camp." She confessed, still looking down at the grey tabletop, "And, yeah, I know, I wasn't one of the people who got the worst of it, but it still happened."

Her eyebrows furrowed. She hated complaining about it; She signed up for this- she worked for this. This is the life she chose, the path she took, and she doesn't regret it, not for a second.

Those troubling experiences in particular, and the fears involved in them were ingrained within her- twisting and contorting to fit in with her overwhelming pain of it all.

Even if she could wake up from those in the end, she couldn't shake the worry that she'd become incapacitated like before- That her friends would die because she couldn't fight, that her friends would one day be at the other end of the knife, like _he_ had been in her dream.

She looks up at him, her face near expressionless, but he sees the way her hands were clenched, the skin pale and taut by the force in which she's holding herself.

"I like to think I'm a good person, you know?" She looks up, eyes peeking out from underneath her crooked bangs, "I want to be a hero, I want to help people... But, here we are, having mental breakdowns in the middle of the night." She pauses, hands coming up to fumble with her jacks. "And, honestly, I hate the fact that I'm starting to doubt my place here."

She seems embarrassed - no, _ashamed_ to be saying such things. She turned her head away, her cheeks coloring slightly as she furrowed her brow.

But, she keeps going all the same, and he's glad she trusts him enough to share this with him.

"My parents always wanted me to be a musician, you know? To follow in my old man's footsteps." she shrugs, "Don't get me wrong, I love music and all but.." she's thinking as she pauses, biting on the inside of her cheek. "It's nothing like being a hero."

For a second, her eyes drift back up to meet his own, and, in that instance, he feels the dams break.

"I'm glad you became a hero!" he blurts out, amber eyes bright, and goddamn, she can't fight it as she feels herself being pulled in, "If you were a musician or something, we wouldn't be at the same school, or in the same class," he meets her gaze, honesty and relief written all over his face as he continues:

"We probably never would have met," He shifts his stool to next to her, and he's close, the kind of close where their thighs were brushing. He's always trying to dig into her side, being a touch-loving person, and Jirou has learned to accept it- to love it, even.

But this time, it's different.

She opens her mouth to object, even if she really didn't want to, but she's interrupted.

"So, Kyouka, I swear to God," Kaminari smiles at her, touching her wrist gently and effectively shutting her up, "if you ever say that you're not meant to be a hero," He smiled, shaking his head, "it won't happen, but I will attempt to kick your ass."

He retracts his hand right away instead of curling his fingers over her arm, and she tries not to let the lingering feeling of static bother her. Instead, she lets herself be distracted by his smile, fond and amused.

"So, it's _okay._" His voice is so tender that it honestly hurts. His tone stirs the built-up feelings inside her and oh no, she feels the dams she had taken so long to build begin to break. His lips twisted into another smile, one that was somber but wholehearted - _sincere_.

Jirou only distinctly feels like she's been struck by lightning.

He looks, looks far too close, and he can see this look in her beautiful eyes- the one that always shows up when she isn't sure, when she's conflicted about something; it's the same look that pops up during their exams, when she's figuring out a question that she didn't know. It's the same look she gave him during USJ, when she was trying to figure out what to do- how to save them all without them getting killed.

It's a look that revealed too much, and, honestly, he loves it- even if he is digging in too deep to figure out who she is behind her 'cool' facade.

So, instead, he did what he knew to do.

He leaned forward, ignoring the warning signals going off in his mind. He's gotten close to her before, sometimes on accident, only to be greeted with an earphone jack to the eye. It wasn't fun.

He pressed his forehead to hers, arms wrapping around her torso and pulling her closer to him in a warm embrace.

They were so close, eyes meeting in the darkness, and the only thing that Jirou could focus on was that Kamimri had wanted her to be there. Her heart was pounding against her ribcage, each and every dull thud sounding like raindrops scattering across the barren ground. She's surprised that he couldn't hear it, and, honestly, she doesn't know if she wants him to.

"What are you doing?" Her words are no more than a whisper as her eyes locked on to his. Purple meets yellow, the two complementary colors, and damn, she can't find it in herself to look away.

"Well," He paused, pulling away and resting the top of his chin against her head, "You look like you needed a hug."

He held her like that for a few seconds too long, bracing himself as he readied himself to be stabbed.

He knew the drill- you get too close to her, you get stabbed, you cry about it, and then it happens all over again.

But, this time, the pain didn't come, and he was pleasantly surprised when he felt her hug back.

He's well aware of how small she is in his arms as she wraps her arms around him, burying her face into his chest.

He couldn't bring himself to speak this time, as, for probably the first time in his life, he was at a loss for words- that's probably why his mouth went dry at her touch, right?

As quickly as it had started, it ended, only lingering on for a few more seconds after she accepted the embrace.

But jeez, Jirou felt her face absolutely BURNING- enough so to put Mina's really pink face to shame.

She hadn't planned on letting him get that close- hell, she hadn't planned on letting him touch her! But, she couldn't deny that she needed it- that she liked it.

Her cheek was still warm from where she had pressed it against his chest, and her head felt light from static. But she's grateful, she really is.

"Thanks, Kaminari."

She's quiet, looking down at her feet, still looking far too sad for him to leave it just like that.

"Come on," He takes her hand before he knows what he's doing, "My room?"

For a second, she looks at their intertwined hands, and he swears that he saw her cheeks turn a slightly darker shade of pink before she nodded.

That was all he needed, quickly scooping her up in his arms bridal style before she even knew what was happening. Huh, she was lighter than he expected - which probably isn't something he should say out loud. Either way, that helped!

"Kaminari!" She whisper yelled, surprised and kinda angry but not wanting to wake anyone else up, "Put me down!"

Even as she struggled out of his grip, he grinned, glad that he was able to somewhat get her out of her sad mood. The threat of being stabbed was worth it sometimes.

"No can do!" He tightened his grip on her, already halfway through the common area, "This is faster anyway!"

"It is _not_!"

Well, it certainly was when he saw her earphone jacks coming up to stab him. He had to get to their floor before they stabbed him. Could he do it? Probably not, but he'd be damned if he didn't try.

Yet again, as they raced away, the milk glasses were left forgotten on the countertop.

"Oh. My. _God _." She deadpans, hand coming up to stifle her giggles, "You made me a mixtape?"

"Pretty dope, am I right?" he laughs, ducking as she chucked the balled up gift wrap at his head. She rolled her eyes, a small smile oh her face as she looked at the cheap looking album cover.

The drawing was absolutely awful. Aoyama would probably vomit at the sight of it.

It was... she couldn't exactly tell what it was supposed to be. There were a few bubble letters, a bunch of stick figures, and a lot of other incoherent stuff on it.

Ugly as it was, she couldn't help but smile at the thought behind it.

"What's this for anyway?" She asked, opening the case and looking over the little index of the songs, squinting as she tried to read his messy handwriting, "It's nearly September. My birthday isn't any time soon.

Yeah, he probably should've done it for her birthday or something. Nightmares were fake fans. Having one then really would have helped a brother out.

But, he finds himself saying the same thing he had said to Bakugou when he was putting this whole thing together because, honestly, it's the truth.

"I don't know? I guess.. I just appreciate you being there for me the other night," he shrugged, trying to look 'cool' about this whole thing, even though he was (not very discreetly, Jirou noted) trying to see her reaction to the song list.

At her small smile, he seems to relax a bit, continuing his rant with a smile of his own.

"And," he waves his arms around a bit, "music's your thing! I thought you'd like something like this!"

She rolled her eyes, but that doesn't stop her from holding the mixtape close to her chest, already liking that not-so-stupid piece of plastic a lot.

"You're stupid, you know that right?" He's heard those words so many times, but now there's a certain fondness behind them that he finds himself liking a lot.

"So I've been told," and there it was, that stupid smile that always managed to light up the room.

Jeez, Jirou feels herself getting red, and he probably takes it for anger or embarrassment, because he adds, "But really! Give it a listen! I'm sure you'll like it!"

As hard as it is for her, she puts the mixtape onto the bed next to her, rolling her eyes (That didn't stop her from keeping her hand on it though).

"Fine, but another time."

She says it in a way that was supposed to make him think that it was a part of her teasing- and that she was torturing him by putting it off even further (She has a reputation to maintain!).

However, the real reason behind her not listening to it with him right in front of her, is because she knows DAMN WELL that she would spontaneously combust over it.

"Speaking of time, what time is it?"

She shifts her eyes away from his, desperate to change the subject. He takes it in stride though, smiling another goofy smile as he checks his phone.

"Oh, it's 4am! You know what that means!" He laughed as he heard her groan, but she didn't protest as he slid off the bed.

He grabs the guitar from his bookshelf, said books scattered all over the floor instead of their rightful place. Hey, he might be trash at organization, but at least he shows some concern for his more valuable items (He treasures the guitar she let him borrow, even if he's not the best at it. He treasures the pictures of him and his friends. And of course he cherishes the Pikachu plushie he's has since he was a kid).

"I thought we were past this whole 'music' thing," she raised an eyebrow, hands resting on her lap as she watches him fumble around.

"I'm trying to prove a point!"

His back is turned to her as he fumbles along his shelf, trying to find his guitar picks. He lets out a little, 'yeah!' in victory as he finds one. It isn't his favorite one, but it'll do.

It's just like before- the last time they had locked themselves in his far too messy room for the same reason. As fun as it was, she would probably die if she ended up being approached by Ojiro again, who had asked why he could hear her voice coming from Kaminari's room.

"Well, I was thinking" her train of thought is interrupted when Kaminari starts speaking again, and she can't help but roll her eyes.

"You? Think? A shocker."

He sticks his tongue out at her, turning out with his guitar in his hand, "I don't know if that was a pun or not. But, thank you! It means a lot."

She thought it was rather amusing to see him step over all his stuff. She could see the fear in his eyes whenever he came particularly close to slipping or stepping on something.

It was cute.

"Anyway, as I was saying," he tosses his pick on the bed next to her, watching her raise an eyebrow at the design on it, "Mic his radio show, and he's still a hero, right? You can do both! Music and hero work!"

He smiles at her when he finishes talking, eyes bright- and, shit, how did she not think of that?

"I think that's one of the smartest things I've ever heard you say," she's at a loss for words- one, because she hadn't thought of something, two, because HE was the one who thought of it, and three, because of his sheer willingness to help her.

She might be a little head over heels.

"Hey!" He says, sticking his tongue out at her, "At least I try. And! When you become one of the top ten heroes, I get to brag to people that 'Hey I went to school with her!'"

He chose to shove aside all of his wariness, instead closing the distance between him and her, sitting close enough that their knees knocked into each other. She didn't seem to mind.

"Yeah, yeah." She's smiling as she waves him off, not shifting over like she usually might, "I guess I'm just bragging material then?"

"No! You know that's not what I meant!" He pouted, taking the pick from her outstretched hand, "I'd never think of you as anything like that."

She raised an eyebrow, understanding but not understanding at the same time. The bragging rights thing was a joke - she knew he cared. But this much? So much so that he was actually doing all this just to make her feel better?

She felt dizzy at the thought of it all, and she kinda hates how much softer she's gotten when it comes down to this whole 'romance' thing.

But, looking over at him when he attempts to tune the guitar, she finds that she doesn't mind all that much.

"I mean," He sets the guitar down on his lap, fingers coming up across the appropriate frets after he tuned it, "I thought that 'hey, it's my turn to pay you back,' right?" She raised an eyebrow at him, arms crossed over her chest as he keeps talking.

"Like," he pauses, trying to find the right words. He really liked her, so he wanted to do something? Hell no. He wanted to make a better impression of himself after she saw him like.. that? No. He was grateful? Maybe? He normally has some sort of fancy word for it, but he can't help but be speechless around her.

"I've been trying to figure out how to say thanks, I guess. And, besides my mixtape, you seem to dig music." He chuckled, shaking his head sheepishly.

"Really, what gives it away?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, but there's a smile tugging at her lips, a small thing, something he's gotten used to seeing.

"I dunno. Maybe it's your shirt," he says, nodding at her 'deep dope' shirt. She chuckled softly, if not only to draw attention away from her red cheeks.

Aside from that, she's quiet, as if not entirely sure of what to do. Last time, he had wanted her to sing for him. This time, what exactly did he want? She didn't mind singing again- though she'd have to be quieter. She'd never live it down if Iida or even Kouda came and approached her like Ojiro had.

So why was she here?

He watches as she bites her lip, purple eyes downcast as she thinks. He watches as she fumbles with her jacks, something she's always done when she's flustered or nervous. It's kind of cute, even if he did know that those things hurt like a bitch.

"I'll stay and sing with you but," she looks up at him, purple eyes hardened with resolve, "if you sing that 'blonde boys' song again, I swear to God."

He smiles cheekily, "Why? I'm just a blonde boy doing what blonde boys do," he laughed, watching her lean away in pure disgust.

He thought it was pretty funny, how she was trying so hard to hide her amusement (he hopes that was the case! That song was hilarious! Who wouldn't like it!). So he decided to mess with her a bit.

"I'm Tommy!"

As he cheerfully yelled out that lyric, he realized that, for once, their roles were reversed. He was usually the one running from her. The tables have turned, baby!

"I'm Ethan!"

He leaned in, amber eyes glinting dangerously as his lips pulled into a smirk, something sinister.

"I'm Jerome!"

Hands press against her shoulders, forcing her back against the wall behind her.

There's little time to process their proximity, Because Kaminari is in front of her, crowding her space, and his face is one a hair's breadth away from her own.

Jesus Christ, what the _hell _was going on?

He leaned in, breath brushing against her cheek as he said them, the words that would make her _his._

"You want a one-way ticket to the blonde boy zone?"

She groaned, pushing his face away with her hand as he laughed, jacks poised to strike had he had the nerve to dive back in and continue that sorry excuse for a song.

At other times, she'd be too caught up with being embarrassed about the close proximity but _no_, not now; she won't let herself get flustered when he tries to serenade her by whispering a fucking meme song into her ear.

"What's up, I'm Denki, and I'm 16."

The idiot. He had the nerve to continue, even when her jacks were literally an inch away from his face. But no, Kaminari Denki had seen it all. He was used to it. He had no fear.

"Noo!"

Oh God, it was even worse that he was changing the lyrics to suit himself.

"I'm slaying all these women with my massive-"

She chucked a pillow at him, hand covering her mouth to stifle her giggles as it hits him straight on, nearly knocking him off the bed.

"Do you have a death wish?!"

He pulls the pillow off of his face, a childish pout on his face as she reprimanded him, but his eyes were bright as ever, much brighter than before. He sees her earphone jacks, poised and ready to strike (like a snake, which he thinks is kinda funny).

"Nah, I wouldn't wanna fight you. You're pretty feisty." He leans back as her earphone jacks come closer, shaking with laughter as she gets more and more flustered.

But then she starts laughing too, unable to act cool anymore as it all becomes too much- too stupid for her to really take it seriously anymore.

It's the kind of laughter where your sides hurt, where you can't breathe after a while, but it's the best thing you've ever felt.

When she composed herself enough, she peeked up at him through her purple bangs, arms clutching at her sides as she shook from laughter.

He's looking at her, a breathless smile on his face as he shook with laughter. His eyes never leave hers, even as he starts to lose his breath.

After another moment, she shoved a hand in his face, forcing his head to turn away.

"Stop staring," she turned away, red face covered by her hair. He bit back a smile as he pulled her hand off of his face, "it's weird."

"Hey!" he stuck his tongue out at her as she took her hand off his face, "At least this isn't as bad as when Bakugou started singing it too."

Oh yeah, _that _was an experience.

She's pretty sure that Hagakure still has the whole thing on tape. Ever since Shinsou had been brought into the Hero course, literally everyone had used him to mess with Bakugou.

The most recent event was the one Kaminari was talking about- when Shinsou got Bakugou and Monoma to sing the 'Blond Boyz' song with Kaminari.

That was a mess.

But also, in her opinion, really funny.

She sighs, leaning her back against the wall next to his bed. She's shaking her head, but there's the small smile on her face that he never got tired of seeing.

"You don't hate it though?" He says it as a joke, because that's how it always is with him- joke. That's how everyone sees him. But he's hopeful, hopeful that someone actually enjoys the real him, even if he can be over the top and slow and times, even if he can never really be the best.

She doesn't hit him or stab him with her jacks, not this time.

She's smiling, not one of the small ones that she's always trying to suppress; it's a genuine one.

A beautiful one.

"Yeah, guess I don't."

Blame it on the lack of sleep, but Denki felt as though he was flying. It's a cheesy comparison, he knows, but when she's looking at him like that, his head was _way _ up in the clouds.

"But that doesn't change the fact that you're an idiot!"

She must've seen the look on his face, because she's turning away, jacks poised and ready to strike. He knows she gets flustered easily, so he really isn't surprised.

Sometimes, being stabbed in the eye was worth it- only if it was by her, though.

He stuck his tongue out at her, only to be flipped off in return. He doesn't know why he always eggs her on, doesn't know why he's always there, smiling even as she's laughing at him. He doesn't know why he finds her so endearing yet such a mystery. He doesn't know when he started to, you know, fall for her.

Oh Shit.

Oh shit, _shit _, **_shit._**

He had a crush on her?

I mean, it wasn't the first time he had realized this. Far from it actually. Hell, he had even had a chat with Kirishima about it that morning.

_"It sounds like you like her, dude," Kirishima took another sip from his capri sun, not moving from his seat atop the kitchen counter, "and you have it __bad __." _

_"I know," Kaminari whined, crushing his capri sun in his hands and wincing when a few stray droplets sprayed him in the face, "it isn't very cash money, man." _

_They were hanging out in the kitchen after training together, sitting on the counter for however long they had until Iida came in and yelled at them to get down. Happiness is fleeting, and, when it comes down to sitting on the counters or putting your feet up on the desks, you had very little time to enjoy it. Thank you Iida, very cool. _

_"Why not? You two would be a good couple," with one last sip of his capri sun, Kirishima crushed it up into a ball, chucking it towards the garbage can and very audibly groaning when it missed, "so don't worry about it." _

_Kaminari looked up at Kirishima, head still somewhat buried in his arms, "How are you so sure? Have you asked her or something?" _

_"Trust me," Kirishima smiled at him, slapping Kaminari on the back, "you should do it, man. I believe in you." _

_Kaminari only groaned, smacking his head back to where his knees were pulled up to his chest. He knew that he probably should say something to her, or this whole thing is gonna continue eating like him like it had been for the last few weeks- ever since a little before the culture festival. _

_He did like her. He really liked her - liked her in a different way than the way he liked Kirishima, Sero, Mina, and even Bakugou. Those were his best friends, and even though he considered her one of his best friends too, it was different. _

_And he was dying because of it._

_Sure, maybe dying was a **little** dramatic, but it was still annoying- the way he couldnt stop staring at her in class because of that stupid feeling within his heart that couldnt help but make him smile, only for aizawa to then call him out about it in front of the calss and ugh- it was frustrating. _

_Maybe, just maybe, if he did tell her- everything would be fixed. Then maybe he could stare at her without shame! He could be a dumbass in class because of her and be proud of that! He might even be able to hold her hand! Hell yeah! _

_With this newfound vigor, he perked up, no longer curled up in a ball and dying. _

_"Okay, yeah, I'm gonna do it." _

_Kirishima turned to him and gave him a smile, "Yeah! That's the manly way to go about it!" He reached out a fist for a fist bump, which Kaminari gladly bumped back, "I'm rooting for you, dude." _

_Gratefully smiling back, Kaminari pushed himself off of the (really high quality, he notes) marble counter, honestly ready to get it over with then and there. _

_"Yeah, I'm gonna tell her! I'm gonna tell her that I like-" _

_Okay, so this was happening. He was going to do it. With his best bro by his side, nothing could go wrong! _

_"Yo." _

_"That I like this lovely piece of furniture! What is it, marble?" _

_The second he heard Jirou's voice, Kaminari nearly leapt thirty feet in the air, instead using his fear to propel him face first into the marble countertop. _

_"What's up with him?" Jirou asked, leaning up against the wall beside the kitchen doorway, "He's acting stupider than usual." _

_"He's about his newfound love for furniture," Kirshima spoke with a knowing smile, sending a smug look her way as he took another capri sun out of the package, "You want one?" _

_As Jirou took the Capri sun from Kirishima's hand, Kaminari could only imagine her rolling those pretty purple eyes of hers. _

_"Hey, Jamming Whey," man, he regrets looking at her in that moment, because the way she aggressively stabbed her capri sun open did nothing more than make him fall for her even harder. "Maybe if the hero thing doesn't work out for you, you could always turn to furniture salesman." _

_From where his face was pressed up against the countertop, Kaminari cried. _

Aside from that slight mental breakdown, he liked to think that he wasn't as bad as Kirishima and Bakugou- that he was in touch enough with his feelings to actually, you know, act on them. His bros were awful at that- dancing around each other and denying their feelings. They were a shitshow.

But I guess it turned out that he was the same way.

...Yikes, he really was in deep, wasn't he?

He was never the type to really, well, deny things. He took things as they came, but that never stopped him from complaining about it.

But this- oh boy, why would he complain about this? It turned out he liked this amazing, smart- incredibly talented girl (One who was also super cute!).

So, huh, he guessed this worked out better than he expected.

"Yo, Pikachu," he snapped to attention when she snapped in front of his face, her eyebrows raised. "you were going to do something?"

He smiles apologetically, face a little red at the stunning realization, but brightens when he remembers what he was going to do.

"Yeah! Jam session part two!" He picks the guitar back up, quickly putting his fingers into place. "It's only fair that I sing this time!"

"Really?" She couldn't contain her surprise when she heard those words, "You? Sing?"

Oh, was that what this was about? She raised an eyebrow at the idea of it. She was expecting to sing again- or at least play guitar for him. But it seemed like he had other ideas.

For once, he seemed a bit flustered by her words, "I mean, I'm not as good as you, but I'd like to try, you know?"

"No, no! I think it's sweet!" She couldn't hide the hastiness of her words as she spoke- because she, the queen of music in UA, actually really wanted to hear it. Especially since it was coming from, you know- _him_.

"Really?" His voice is quiet, as if he didn't really believe it. He really was more than he seemed- he cared, maybe a bit too much.

"Yeah," she smiled softly, pacing a hand on his arm, "just be quiet, for God's sake. If anyone hears us, I'll die."

He laughed at that, and that mischievous glint in his amber eyes was back.

"Why? Still haven't recovered from the Ojiro thing?" He laughed as she covered her face with her hands, "To add onto that scenario, by the way, Iida asked me about it, and told me to 'refrain from making such loud noise at night'".

As he rolled his eyes at the words, he watched as Jirou seemed to shrink in on herself even more, finding it cute how she got so flustered over such a thing.

Personally, he didn't think it was that big a deal, considering that it wasn't one of his friends (*cough* Mina and Sero*cough*) that had heard him. He loves his bros, but they'd be teased endlessly had word gotten out of their little jam sessions.

So, he kinda got where she was coming from on this whole situation.

Again, he didn't really mind it. But seeing how flustered Jirou got over this made him not want to tell them. He didn't want to scare her off- no, he didn't want to make her any more uncomfortable.

Well, too late. Jirou felt like curling up in a ball and dying. More people knew about them? Ugh, she knew that, well, their jam sessions were pretty innocent- but she knew damn well that the other girls would absolutely tear her apart had they known that she was alone, with the boy that she had a crush on's room in the middle of the night.

Hm, it wouldn't be a shocker if they thought that they were... Well, you know.

"You're not doing a good job at convincing me, you know." She groaned, peeking out through the cracks in her fingers.

"Well, you already said you wanted to hear it!" He strummed down on the guitar, the music already causing her to perk up a bit, "So, you're kind of stuck here now."

As he strummed out the first few chords of a song that she didn't quite know, she found that she couldn't argue with him- that she didn't want to.

She couldn't help but notice how much better he had gotten since the culture festival. He knew the chords, he knew he strumming pattern- and he was doing a pretty damn good job at keeping the rhythm.

_He must've really been practicing this… _

_"Call me on the phone at three, I talk to you while half asleep," _he starts, full of confidence as he nudges her with his shoulder, a dopey smile pulling on his lips while he nods toward the clock, _"Complaining 'bout your mother so I take you to the cemetery, " _

She smiles at the comment about talking while half asleep, because, yeah, it was 4am and they were tired as hell, but they still were here; they found each other even amidst the darkness, as cheesy as it sounds.

_"Rant to me, I like the sound, I like your voice, I like your mouth," _

Okay, sweet song aside, that caught her off guard.

Though his head was still tilted down and facing the guitar, he peeked at her from the corner of his eye, waiting- watching for her reaction. Not at all subtle. He wasn't slick at all.

That look only made her shrink a little farther in on herself, which she didn't think was even possible, because it showed that there were a few… Implications that he was trying to get across.

_"Oh, O-oh, mmmm."_

For a moment, a sense of familiarity washes over her as she recognizes that little tune - the one she had caught him humming in the kitchen the other day when he was (finally) doing the dishes.

_"Oh, that?" He had chuckled, and now she knows why he sounded a little more nervous than he usually did, "Something that's been stuck in my head for a while. I'm surprised you don't know it, Rock Star." _

_Inside she was squealing over that cute nickname, while in reality she was rolling her eyes about it. _

_"I'm not some sort of song encyclopedia, you know." She eyed the sink, watching as a little mountain of soap bubbles began to form. Never let Kaminari do the dishes again was something she should probably tell Iida, but the thought of playing with bubbles was pretty enticing. _

_"Well," he flicked a soap bubble at her, laughing at her look of disgust when it landed on her nose, "Maybe I'll have to teach you it sometime!" _

_She scrunched up her nose, picking off the wad of bubbles and flicking it back at him while he laughed at her. _

_"Ha! In your dreams!"_

...Well, she supposed that singing together at 4am was as close to 'in their dreams' as they would get.

"_I was such a fool to keep on chasing after nothing great," _he sings those words almost sadly, a bittersweet smile pulling at his lips.

He really did sound like a broken record here, didn't he? Tease, laugh, repeat. That's how it's always been with her. Looking back on it, there's probably no way that she would like him back the way he likes her.

But, even if sharing his feelings with her meant that they wouldn't be able to hang out like this, then it was worth it. It really should be worth it - but he can't get those purple eyes out of his head.

"_You were such a fool to keep pretending that you're loving me," _

At those words, she thinks back to all the times she teased him- all the times she tried her best to deny her feelings because god damn it, she couldn't believe she had fallen for someone like him.

But, honestly, with the way that he looked at her, how could she not?

"_Look in the mirror, I love that boy, don't hurt my dear, don't hurt my joy," _he smiled softly as he sang those words, and Jirou felt her cheeks dye an even darker shade of crimson.

"_Oh O-oh." _

He looks back at her as he hums out the last note, resting the guitar back in his lap.

He cut the song short like she had all those nights ago, honestly proud of himself for getting that far without spontaneously combusting.

To her, he's looking unusually flustered, but he still (somehow, she would've died in this situation) has the courage to look her in the eyes after sharing such a blatant message.

Okay, so he might not be the sharpest pencil in the pencil box, but he's always had his way with words.

And with that song, came a clear message, one most people love to shout from the rooftops, yet one so dear, that people tend to clutch it to their chests before letting it soar.

_I like you _

She shook her head, eyes trained on the sheets clenched between her fists, "it's good but," she looks up at him, and hope blooms in his chest when there's a smile on her face, "you SUCK at singing."

"Hey! Jirou!" Kaminari protests, but he's laughing too, eyes bright and in no way offended. She's laughing at him, arms coming up to block the pillow he tossed at her. That pillow sure loved to assault people.

She's still laughing as he reaches out to her, playfully shoving her back as she reached out for the pillow yet again. It wasn't the cackle that she usually let out whenever he did something stupid- this was more sincere- a series of snorts that she tried to stifle behind her open palm.

"Y'know, that's not what an apology sounds like." He crosses his arms over his chest, fake glaring at her. She only grins, leaning her head in her hands as her eyes meet his, armed with the pillow in her other hand.

They sit like that for a while, shoulder to shoulder, hands nearly brushing each other from where they were placed in between them. They both stared at the ceiling, wanting to but too afraid to look the person next to them in the eye.

"Hey, Jirou?" She turned to him, only to find that he isn't looking at her, eyes cast up towards the ceiling, "I just... I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you."

The words are sudden, quiet, but fuck, she hates the way her breath catches in her throat at them.

He turns to her, not quite meeting her eyes- but it's clear that he expects some sort of a response.

"Pretty sure?" The words slip from her mouth before she can wrap her mind around the meaning behind his words, her sarcasm far too practiced for her own good.

"I mean, yeah? I get if you don't feel the same way! Hell, I only just realized myself-" she hears the way he tries to right himself, his words slipping as he tried to get his thoughts together. "I get it though. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable with all this-"

And all too quickly, he started to stand up, trying to slide off the bed as if getting as far away from her as possible would somehow fix this- even though, well, this was his room and all- but still! He knew he fucked up.

_Shit, why am I so dumb? _

He hated himself for thinking that, for once, he had actually read the mood right. But now, he probably just ruined everything.

The air started to crackle with electricity again, just like the last time he was upset. Jirou felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end when his leg brushed against hers.

"Wait, Kaminari!" Jirou reached out, grabbing ahold of his arm and trying her best to ignore the tingling feeling that came with being shocked that erupted on her fingertips, "You didn't give me a chance to answer!"

He stops moving, sitting slouched forward on the edge of his bed, looking back at her with far too tired looking eyes.

And, well, the whole 'chance to answer' statement she made actually made it seem like she had a concrete answer for this whole thing. Newsflash: she had no clue what to say. At _all_.

Sure, she kinda knew how she felt (the kinda being an understatement). But confessions were far from her thing. She had never thought that it would go quite like this- let alone what to really say!

Mina had said stuff like: "Oh, he'll take you out somewhere nice- like a rooftop restaurant, and, while you're looking up at the stars together, he'll ask you to be his girlfriend! No doubt with a pun! But it'd be cute!"

(Thanks Mina, for preparing her for the wrong scenario)

But, there they were, 4 o' clock in the morning, both sitting in stained pajamas after chugging glasses of milk (Something she still shudders at the thought of). Not quite as romantic as the scenario that she had thought of, but honestly? She kinda preferred it this way.

But, _shit_, what was she going to say?

"I-" She paused, biting her lip, feeling all too exposed when his attention was only on her.

This was Kaminari. He didn't mind short responses. He liked things put simply. He liked honesty and was really good at telling if you were lying. He liked things straight to the point- especially on tests and in stressful situations like this. And oh god, if she knew that much about him, it shows that she really did like him.

_Screw it_.

She shut her eyes tight as sucked in a breath,

"I like you too."

At her words he seemed to deflate, plopping himself back down on the mattress without a second thought.

"Oh thank _god_."

The second she opened her eyes again, she rolls her eyes like she always does, finding his relief, well, _relieving_.

She leans back too, back flat against the mattress, her arms resting against his as she turns to look at him, and they both burst out laughing, the sound holding years worth of emotion.

She doesn't know why she's laughing like this; especially this kind of laughter. It isn't the silent kind, the kind where you and your friends sit there bowled over, hands clutching your sides from the hilarity of it all - it's the kind where you're panicking, where you have to let something out, but it's relieving at the same time.

"You're such an idiot!" She's still smiling, hand coming up to cover her mouth.

He meets her eyes, and suddenly, he's smiling too.

Jirou released the breath she's been holding for so long, heart beating hard enough to break. Never has she felt this light in her life.

"But, I guess this makes me as big of an idiot as you."

Running a hand through her hair, she looks at him, and she sees him in flashes of gold and blue. His eyes are shining as he looks up at the ceiling, and Jirou feels her heartbeat race.

"Hey!" Kaminari protests, but he's still smiling, eyes glossy. "But you like it though."

She smiles as she remembers him saying the exact same words to her last time they were in this.. situation. But this time, there's no self deprecation behind the words, no insecurity hidden behind those golden eyes.

_It's as it should be._

"Yeah," she leans in, tucking a stray strand of hair behind his ear, "I'm pretty sure I like you."

"'Pretty sure?'' She hears the amusement in his voice as he echoed her words from before, but he doesn't pull away, a soft smile tugging at his lips as he looked up at her.

"Yeah, pretty sure."

Kaminari wanted to kiss her—wanted to lean forward just a few inches and find out if the purple lip gloss she used really did taste like grapes or if that whole thing was just a myth-

"Just do it, idiot," okay, It turned out that he wasn't really slick with his intentions. I mean, maybe he was slick, which is what he wants to think, and it was just that she was too smart for it. That's one of the things he liked about her! So! It's like like that isn't a plus.

"Idiot? Even now?" He pouted, reaching over to cup her face in his hands, "I thought I was better than that!"

"In your dreams," her face was still red, even more so that he was cupping her cheeks, but that didn't stop her from rolling her eyes, "you'll always be one."

"But you're the girl of my dreams," he hummed out, brushing his thumb across her cheek, "and I seem to be holding the world in my hands."

She huffed out a breath, cheeks tinting red when she realized that her face was being held in his hands. She had seen the joke online before, but it comes off so different when the person actually seems to be serious about it!

Okay, banter and all, he was just trying to distract himself from what he really wanted to do. And even though she would probably deny it later, he saw the expectant look in her eyes.

_Ah screw it. _

He leaned in, only surging forward when the bed underneath him shifted unexpectedly, forcing him to crash into her a lot harder than he meant to.

When their lips met, Jirou felt sparks. Not just the metaphorical kind, but the literal kind.

From where his hands cupped her face, her skin tingled, traveling down her back and making her hair stand on end.

She loved it.

If this were any other time- any other time being when she was able to think about anything other than the way her mouth tingled like se had overdosed on pop rocks, she could probably write it into some sort of song- one of the cutesy love ones she usually didn't like and oh god, she just turned into one of _those _girls didn't she.

There was this surging sensation in her chest, this sense of desire and relief that pushes her closer and closer to him that's so good but too much at the same time.

And, all too quickly, it's over.

With a final lingering moment, Kaminari pulled his mouth from hers and drew back. Jirou would have stopped him, but she was busy trying to remember how to breathe.

It didn't help that, less than a second afterward, he licked his lips, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"What the hell are you doing?"

If she weren't too busy composing herself, she probably would've saved him. You don't just lick your lips after kissing someone? Well, she hoped not.

"What?" He asked, looking far too innocent as he looks back at her, a hint of red on his own cheeks, "I just wanted to see something!"

"See what?" Okay, so he clearly didn't think before he acted- which is not a surprise to her. It doesn't make this any less embarrassing either (as nice as the kiss was).

"I wanted to see if lip gloss actually tastes like anything! Unfortunately, it does not." He looks far too sad at such a trivial thing. Had that really been on his mind all night?

"It's 4am," she deadpanned, ignoring the way the clock beside his bed read 5:17, "why would I be wearing lip gloss?"

He stopped for a moment, as if he actually had to think it through (Which he probably did, knowing him).

"_Man_," he pouted, but was quick to perk back up, "well, all that means is that I'll have to try some other time." As he winked at her, she hated the way her face went red at his words.

_Well, I guess this means that we're.. a thing now. _

She had to shake the excited feeling she got from that off quick as she felt him brush a hand against of lips, as if he couldn't really believe it either.

"Oh my god... Just- come on, " She says, hating herself for the way her voice sounded as she gently took the guitar out of his arms, blatantly ignoring just how much her fingers were shaking because holy shit she just kissed this lovable loser- "how about we make something together this time."

There's something blooming in his chest, something warm and fuzzy that's spreading through him alongside the lightning in his veins.

He smiled, liking this feeling a hell of a lot.

"Yeah, I'd Like that."

Even with less than an hours sleep and the looming thought of the pain class was going to impose on them the next day, looking into those purple eyes, he knows that, though he's lightning, she's thunder.

She's struck him twice, not just with her earphone jacks, but in his heart.

Both kind of hurt, but, at this point, Kaminari has learned to love it.

* * *

**_A/n: I hope I did them justice 😭😭 Please let me know what you thought!_**

**_Thank you for reading!_**


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